120th Anniversary ofBaghramyan Marked YEREVAN (Arka) — Officials and citizens laid

flowers on December 5 on the monument of Sovietmilitary commander Marshal Ivan Baghramyan andpaid tribute to his memory. The day marked his120th birthday anniversary. Armenia’s DefenseMinister Vigen Sargsyan attended the event.Baghramyan was a Soviet military commander

and Marshal of the Soviet Union. During WorldWar II, he was the first non-Slavic military officerto become a commander of a Front. His experiencein military planning as a chief of staff allowed himto distinguish himself as a capable commander inthe early stages of the Soviet counter-offensivesagainst Nazi Germany. In November 1943 hereceived his most prestigious command as the com-mander of the 1st Baltic Front where he partici-pated in the offensives which pushed Germanforces out of the Baltic republics.

HIV Numbers Higher inYerevan than ProvincesYEREVAN (ARKA) — The number of people with

HIV is significantly higher in the Armenian capitalYerevan than in the provinces, Sevada Hakobyan,the head of the sexopathology department at theYerevan State Medical University, said at a newsconference on December 1.“According to our data, there are a total of 2,841

HIV carriers in Armenia, of whom 886 people (31.2percent) live in Yerevan,” said Hakobyan.He said 68 percent of HIV transmission in

Armenia is through heterosexual intercourse while23 percent got infected through drug use and 3.1percent through homosexual intercourse.He said from 1988, when the first case of AIDS

was reported in Armenia to this day, some 350-360people died of the disease.

Armenia among Top 3Reliable Russia

Partners, Survey FindsMOSCOW (Panorama.am) — Russians view

Armenia as the country’s third most reliable part-ner after Belarus and Kazakhstan, a poll conduct-ed by the All-Russian Public Opinion ResearchCenter (VTsIOM) showed. According to VTsIOM, 60 percent of Russians

named Belarus as the most reliable partner nation,with Kazakhstan with 41 percent of the vote, whileArmenia is the third with 16 percent of the vote.Among other Commonwealth of Independent

States (CIS) members, Azerbaijan was named asthe most reliable partner by 10 percent of therespondents. Georgia scored 6 percent of the vote,Turkmenistan, Moldova and Tajikistan 5 percenteach, and Ukraine 1 percent.

Mirror- SpectatorMirror- SpectatorTHE ARMENIAN

Volume LXXXVIII , NO. 21, Issue 4515

DECEMBER 9 , 2 017

$ 2.00

INSIDE

The First English Language Armenian Weekly in the United States Since 1932NEWS IN BRIEF

FrenchMemories

Page 9

INDEXArts and Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Armenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,3Community News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,5

YEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia) — Skygazers enjoyed magical views as a dazzling supermoon roseacross Armenia. December’s full moon, traditionally known as the Cold Moon, appears bigger andbrighter in the sky as it sits closer than average to Earth. That kind of full moon won’t be seen againuntil 2034, according to NASA. The next supermoons will appear on January 2 and January 31, 2018.

Flynn AcknowledgesHe Took DirectionsFrom Turkey DuringTrump Campaign

By Vera Bergengruen

WASHINGTON (BuzzFeed) — Tendays before he was tapped asPresident-elect Donald Trump’snational security adviser, MichaelFlynn published an opinion columnthat immediately raised suspicions atthe Justice Department.“We need to adjust our foreign poli-

cy to recognize Turkey as a priority,”Flynn wrote in the Hill on November 8,2016, the day of the presidential elec-tion. “We need to see the world fromTurkey’s perspective.”He argued for a range of President

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s talkingpoints, defending his ruthless crack-down on dissidents, calling for theextradition of Erdogan’s rival,Fethullah Gülen, and calling Turkey“vital to US interests.”What nobody knew then was that

three days earlier, Flynn had receivedthe third and last installment of$530,000 in compensation for lobby-ing for Turkey’s interests. He wouldnot register as a foreign agent untilMarch, a month after he was firedfrom the White House.

see FLYNN, page 4

Project Save Hosts AfternoonOf Thanks for Donors andSupportersBy Alin K. GregorianMirror-Spectator Staff

WALTHAM, Mass. — Project Save ArmenianPhotograph Archives turned the tables on its sup-porters on November 19; instead of asking them,as any small non-profit does regularly, for their sup-port, staff and a committee hosted a brunch at theWestin Hotel to thank all donors and volunteers.As guests were heading into the main hall for

lunch and speeches, the hotel lost power as a result see LUNCHEON, page 12

By Alin K. Gregorian Mirror-Spectator Staff

BOSTON — About 700 community, busi-ness and education leaders from aroundMassachusetts gathered on November 30

at the InterContinental Boston at the annu-al International Institute of New England(IINE) fundraiser, to honor Dr. NoubarAfeyan as he received the organization’stop award, the Golden Door.The century-old organization aids immi-

grants and refugees as they arrive in the

US, providing them with housing, Englishlessons and job training. They often meetthe people they help at either LoganAirport or Manchester, NH’s airport andtake them directly to their new residences.The theme of the evening was not only

charity (of which there was plenty, with theevent raising more than $768,000) but

combating the cur-rent insular tenorof the administra-tion of PresidentDonald Trump.Those helped by

the organization, atfirst glance, seemedworlds away fromthe well-heeledcrowd of moversand shakers sippingcocktails andmunching on tinyhors d’oeuvres.However, the hon-oree and manyguests happened tobe one-time immi-grants and refugees

themselves. The Golden Door Award is given annually

by the IINE to a former immigrant orrefugee who has become a true force in theUS. And Afeyan has certainly become one inbiotech, with recognition not only

see HONORS, page 10

Immigrant and RefugeeAid Group Honors Afeyan

From left, Shari Loessberg, IINE board member, honoree Dr.Noubar Afeyan, Jeff Thielman, president and CEO of IINE andZoltan Csimma, chair of the IINE board

Aronian Ranked Second PARIS (Public Radio of Armenia) — Armenia’s

leading grandmaster Levon Aronian has retained hissecond place ranking in the International ChessFederation (FIDE) December raking of the world’stop 100 players.Reigning champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway) sits

atop the list.Aronian will participate in the last round of Grand

Chess Tour in London, which also features Carlsen,Hikaru Nakamura, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, WesleySo, Sergey Karjakin, Fabiano Caruana, ViswanathanAnand, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Mickey Adams.

Mansurian’s RequiemEarns 2 Grammy NodsYEREVAN (Public Radio of Armenia) — Armenian

composer Tigran Mansurian’s Requiem has beennominated for Grammy Awards in two categories –Best Choral Performance and Best ContemporaryClassical Composition.Armenian conductor Constantine Orbelian has

also been nominated for Grammy in the “BestClassical Solo Vocal Album” category for his role inthe late Russian opera singer Dmitri Hvorostovsky’slatest album “Russia Cast Adrift.”The late American musician, singer, and song-

writer Chris Cornell has been nominated for a 2018Grammy Award for his original song written for theArmenian Genocide film “The Promise.”The awards will takes place on January 28.

Armenian Embassy inPoland Takes Part inNew Year Charity FairWARSAW (Panorama.am) — The Spouses of Heads

of Missions’ Association (SHOM) accredited toPoland held its 10th annual New Year charity fair atthe Marriott Hotel here.The event was organized under the patronage of

Poland’s First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda. TheEmbassy of Armenia in Poland was also participatingin the charity fair with several pavilions, presentingArmenian souvenirs, jewels, wines, brandies, sweetsand traditional dishes, the Armenian Ministry ofForeign Affairs reported.Kornhauser-Duda visited Armenia’s pavilion, which

was presented by Armenian Ambassador to PolandEdgar Ghazaryan, Kraków-based Armenian sculptorAni Muradyan, Center for Development of Armenian-Polish Relations NGO, etc.All proceeds will go to a number of charity, social

and educational organizations in Poland.

Armenia, Estonia to SignProtocol Ensuring

Readmission Agreement YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Armenia and Estonia

will sign a protocol on implementing the readmissionagreement with the European Union (EU). The Armenian Parliament is discussing the agree-

ment on signing a protocol ensuring the readmissionagreement between the Armenian and Estonian gov-ernments. Gagik Yeganyan of the Ministry of Territorial

Administration and Development, recalled thatArmenia and the EU in 2013 signed the agreementon the readmission of persons living without permis-sion. “It was planned that Armenia could signed proto-

cols ensuring the implementation of this agreementwith all the EU member states. Currently we areholding talks on this issue with dozens of countries.We have already signed a similar protocol withFrance, Estonia is the second country with which wewill sign a protocol ensuring the implementation ofthe readmission agreement,” he said. Yeganyan noted that the readmission process is

important for Armenia taking into account the agree-ments to launch dialogue on liberalization of visaswith the EU. According to him, without effective useof the readmission tool it’s not realistic to expect thatthe EU will liberalize visas for Armenia.

News From Armenia

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R2

ARMENIA

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Poverty in Armenia continuedto fall slowly last year despite sluggish economic growth,the National Statistical Service (NSS) said on Tuesday,December 5.In an annual report, the government agency said

29.4 percent of Armenians lived below the officialpoverty line as of the end of 2016, down from 29.8 per-cent in 2015.The poverty line is set at almost 40,900 drams ($85) per

month. The NSS regards as “very poor” over a third ofsome 880,000 Armenians whose average monthly incomedid not exceed that figure. Another 54,000 people areconsidered “extremely poor,” NSS officials said as theypresented the report to journalists in Yerevan.Adrine Babloyan of the Yerevan office of the United

Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also spoke at the newsconference. Babloyan expressed concern over the factthat at 34.2 percent the poverty rate among Armenianchildren was still above the nationwide average. And it didnot shrink considerably in 2016, she said.Poverty fell more rapidly during an almost a decade of

double-digit economic growth in Armenia that came to anend with the onset of a global financial crisis in late 2008.

It stood at 27.6 percent at that time but soared to almost36 percent in 2010, one year after the country’s GrossDomestic Product shrunk by over 14 percent.Economic growth has been modest since then. It all but

ground to a halt in 2016 but seems to have significantlyaccelerated this year. NSS data released in recent monthssuggests that the Armenian economy is now on course toexpand by at least 4 percent.Senior government officials have said that rapid pover-

ty reduction is contingent on an economic growth rate ofat least 5 percent. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan’s cab-inet set this annual growth target in its five-year policyprogram approved by parliament in June.The 120-page program says that sustained faster

growth will cut poverty to about 18 percent by 2022.Using a different methodology, the World Bank has

recorded lower poverty rates in Armenia. According to it,just under 25 percent of Armenians lived in poverty in2016. In a report released in May, the bank forecast thatthe poverty rate will fall to 22.2 percent in 2019.The NSS currently estimates the average monthly wage

in the country at just over 190,000 drams ($394). The offi-cial rate of unemployment exceeds 20 percent.

Armenian Government Reports Further Drop in Poverty

MUMBAI and YEREVAN — Russian-Armenian impact investors and socialentrepreneurs Ruben Vardanyan andVeronika Zonabend have collaboratedwith Anand Mahindra, chairman ofthe Mahindra Group, a global groupof companies based in India, commit-ting together to $7.5 million in fund-ing to provide need-based scholar-ships to meritorious students world-wide to study at one of the UWC(United World Colleges) schools andcolleges. UWC is a global education move-

ment with the mission to make educa-tion a force to unite people, nationsand cultures for peace and a sustain-able future. UWC comprises a net-work of 17 international schools andcolleges on four continents and a sys-tem of volunteer-run national commit-tees in 159 countries and territoriesworldwide that select UWC’s scholarsindependent of socio-economic means. All three philanthropists are strong

supporters of the UWC educationalmovement – Vardanyan and Zonabendfounded UWC Dilijan in Armenia in2014, and Mahindra Group, led byAnand Mahindra, established UWCMahindra College in India in 1997. Under the new commitment,

Mahindra Group will contribute INR150 million (approximately US$ 2.3million) over the next five years tosupport need-based scholarships for

students admitted to UWC MahindraCollege. Half of this gift will providescholarship grants for Indian stu-dents, while the rest will be used forscholarship grants for students select-ed through UWC national committeesoutside India. In parallel, the Scholae Mundi

Foundation, founded by Vardanyanand Zonabend, has allocated approxi-mately $5.2 million to fund need-

based scholarships for the coming aca-demic year; of that, $3.7 million will bededicated to scholarships for interna-tional students selected to study atUWC Dilijan in Armenia. The remain-

ing $1.5 million will be allocated toscholarships for students fromArmenia, Georgia and Russia to studyat one of the other 16 UWC schoolsand colleges, including UWCMahindra College. The Scholae MundiFoundation has already announced acontinued commitment in the years to

come to enablefuture scholar-ship funding. Furthermore,

in recognitionof this collabo-rative scholar-ship fundingcommitment ,UWC MahindraCollege andUWC Dilijanhave also com-mitted to sup-port cross-schol-arships: UWCM a h i n d r a

College will offer a place and a need-based scholarship covering up to 100percent of all costs to a student fromArmenia. Likewise, UWC Dilijan willoffer a place and a need-based scholar-ship covering up to 100 percent of allcosts to a student from India, for thenext five years. Sir John Daniel, Chair of UWC

International commented: “This extra-ordinary initiative of great entrepre-

neurs from different parts of the worldwill enable the UWC movement toreach out to more young people andprovide them with a world-class inter-national education. Learning and living

at one of the 17 UWC colleges will sup-port them in gaining the skills andintercultural competency needed tobecome ethical leaders for a betterfuture.”“In today’s challenging, uncertain

and fast-changing global environ-ment, it is imperative to widen accessto opportunities for meritorious stu-dents with potential for strong lead-ership. We hope that our commit-ment will serve as a catalyst toenhance the impact of the UWCmovement and help train extraordi-nary leaders for the next generationwho can navigate the complexity ofthe world around us with ease,” saidAnand Mahindra, chairman of theMahindra Group.“In this increasingly interconnect-

ed and rapidly developing world, it isof vital importance to nurture open-minded, wise leaders with stronghumanitarian values, capable ofcharting a course through uncertaintimes and playing a pivotal role incaring for local and global communi-ties. We believe that UWC educationcreates these types of leaders andthat the SM Scholarship program willhelp to make this network moreinclusive,” added Veronika Zonabend,co-founder and chair of the Board ofGovernors of UWC Dilijan inArmenia, member of the Board ofTrustees of UWC International (UK).

Scholae Mundi Foundation and Mahindra GroupAnnounce Major UWC Scholarship Commitment

Veronika Zonabed and Ruben Vardanyan

Anand Mahindra

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — A newly establishedcompany controlled by Russian-Armenian bil-lionaire Samvel Karapetyan has asked for a gov-ernment permission to explore for oil and gas innorthern Armenia.The company called Armenian Oil and Gas

held on Monday, December 4, mandatory publichearings in Gyumri on the environmental impactof oil exploration sought by it in the surroundingShirak province and two other regions in thecountry’s north. They were attended by officialsfrom the Environment Protection Ministry, geol-ogists and ecologists.Under Armenian law, such hearings are must

precede the ministry’s decisions on whether ornot to allow particular companies to take thefirst step towards exploiting natural resources.Speaking at the discussion, an Armenian Oil

and Gas representative, Erik Ananian, said thecompany would use nuclear magnetic resonance,as opposed to traditional drilling, to determinewhether the area close to Georgia has commer-cially viable hydrocarbon reserves. In Shirak, hesaid, the exploration would be carried out nearsix rural communities.“If we see that there is a certain industrial poten-

tial [for oil production] we will switch to the nextphase,” added Ananian. He would not say whether

the company already has any tenta-tive estimates to that effect.It also remained unclear when it

would start the exploratory work incase of securing clearance from thegovernment.Hmayak Hovannisian of the

Geophysics Institute in Yerevan saidit is still too early speculate aboutthe potential size of oil or gas fieldsin the area. But he stressed thatmagnetic resonance allows fordeeper penetration than explorato-ry drilling done in Armenia to date.Another scientist working at the

institute, Roland Gasparian,claimed that the possible discoveryand extraction of oil would pose an “enormousdanger” to local agriculture, while some environ-mentalists expressed concern at the new methodof oil exploration.Several Western companies have already

explored for but found no major oil deposits inArmenia over the past two decades.The company in question belongs to

Karapetian’s Tashir Kapital group that ownsArmenia’s national electric utility and will soon

also manage the country’s state-owned powertransmission network. A Tashir subsidiary is alsoplanning to build, together with other Russian-Armenian and Western investors, two majorhydroelectric plants. In addition, it recentlylaunched Armenia’s first-ever solar power plant.The Armenian-born tycoon further under-

scored his growing involvement in the Armenianeconomy on November 13 when he inauguratedanother massive shopping mall built by Tashir inYerevan.

Armenian-MadeCosmetics to BeExported toSouth Korea YEREVAN (Armenpress) — The first batch of Armenian

natural and organic cosmetics worth more than $10,000is being exported to South Korea and Hong Kong. TheNairian company received the export order thanks to itsparticipation in the Cosmoprof North America 2017 expoin Las Vegas by the assistance of the DevelopmentFoundation of Armenia (DFA). Anahit Markosyan, co-founder and scientific director at

Nairian, said receiving an order from Korea surprisedthem since that country is famous as a global hub for cos-metics products throughout the world. “At the same time, Korean women are well aware of cos-

metics and assess the quality and especially its composi-tion. In this sense, it was not surprising that they paid anattention on us,” she said. She reported that before they exported the shipment,

they answered in detail to all the questions from the buy-ers, provided information on the product’s composition,preparation ways. Markosyan said they attach equal importance to all

countries where they export the products, such as Russia,Japan and US, but she noted that most of the products aresold in Armenia. “This encourages us a lot since we areable to satisfy the demands of the local people,” she said.Talking about the upcoming programs, she informed thatthey plan to open a special line for men, as well as they

will have products for children. She added that they havealso plans to increase the circle of product types. LilitMartirosyan, marketing and sales director at the Nairian,said the Armenian company was participating in a cos-metics expo in US for the first time. “For three days, we have met with international buyers,

cosmetics experts, distributors, with two of which the

talks reached the best result. Last week we signed the con-tracts, at present we have packaged the products, andthey will be sent to Korea next week,” Lilit Martirosyansaid. Anahit Mkrtchyan, a back-up team coordinator at DFA,

said the export market of Armenian products is being

diversified. “We attach importance not only to theincrease of physical volumes of exported products, butalso to the formation of Armenian brands and increase oftheir international recognition. The Nairian is a very goodexample for the remaining companies, since if you have ahigh-quality product, you can always find the respectivemarket,” she said.

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 3

ARMENIA

Some of the Nairian cosmetics

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — One of Armenia’s mostinfluential army generals was sacked on Tuesday,Decmeber 5, after being publicly rebuked byDefense Minister Vigen Sargsyan.President Serzh Sargsyan relieved Lieutenant-

General Haykaz Baghmanian of his duties asdeputy chief of the Armenian army’s GeneralStaff just hours after the extraordinary criticism.Speaking to reporters, President Sargsyan said

Baghmanian has asked to be discharged from themilitary “at my urging.” He accused the latter offailure to comply with unspecified “workingagreements” which is “incompatible with furtherjoint service.” The minister did not elaborate.Baghmanian has held the position since 2009.

The former Soviet army officer had previouslycommanded two of Armenia’s army corps.Baghmanian has long been under media spot-

light because of his reported business interestsand lavish lifestyle that raised questions about hisintegrity. He has also been occasionally doggedby controversy.Last year, for example, an entrepreneur from the

eastern Armenian town of Martuni alleged thatBaghmanian has gained ownership of one of his busi-nesses by fraudulent means. The general denied theallegation. The business in question, a liquefied gasstation, is now run by his 28-year-old son.In 2010, the Hetq.am investigative publication

reported that Baghmanian was spotted at arequiem service held for a deceased crime figure.Hakob Badalian, a Yerevan-based political ana-

lyst, suggested that by openly attacking and forc-ing Baghmanian to quit Sargsyan sought todemonstrate that he has sufficient authority overthe military.“This is a signal to foreign powers, the

Armenian public and the ruling clique regardingVigen Sargsyan’s political clout in the armedforces,” Badalian said.Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan, 42, is widely

regarded a protégé and potential successor ofPresident Sargsyan. He was the chief of the pres-idential staff before being appointed as defenseminister just over a year ago.Meeting senior military officials in late October,

the defense minister pledged to “modernize”Armenia’s army through a seven-year plan ofactions which he said will be launched less thanthree months before he completes his final presi-dential term in April.

Top Armenian General Forced to Quit Army

Lieutenant-General Haykaz Baghmanian

President Serzh Sargsyan (R) and Russian-Armenian business-man Samvel Karapetyan

Private Investor to Explore for Oil in Armenia

YEREVAN (Armenpress) — On December11the world’s leading classical music channel,MEDICI.TV, will live stream the closing galaconcert of the 5th Khachaturian InternationalFestival. The organization announced that this is an

exceptional event both in the musical life ofArmenia and for the KhachaturianInternational Festival and the State YouthOrchestra of Armenia.According to the source, since 2008

MEDICI.TV has provided music connoisseurswith the opportunity to be part of the best clas-sic performances. The concerts of the world’sbest collectives, such as Berlin Philharmonic,London Symphony Orchestra, MariinskyTheatre Orchestra, New York Philharmonic,Royal Concertgebouw and other orchestras,concerts at the most prestigious concert halls,festivals and competitions are broadcast on thischannel.

MEDICI.TV has the largest library of classicalmusic in the world. There are about 18,000 pro-grams (3,000 original works), including con-certs, ballets, operas and more.On December 11, the most demanding audi-

ence in the world will be able to communicatewith the Armenian performing and composingart. The State Youth Orchestra of Armenia,headed by conductor Sergey Smbatyan, willpresent the Symphony No. 3 by Avet Terterianand the Symphony No.2, The Bell Symphony,by Aram Khachaturian.According to the source, the live broadcast of

the concert by MEDICI.TV implies greatpreparatory work. The TV Company has itsclear criteria and the Khachaturian Festivalorganizational staff has been able to satisfy allof the requirements. The Khachaturian Festival will be the first in

the region to be presented to such a large audi-ence.

Closing Concert of Khachaturian InternationalFestival to Be Live Streamed on MEDICI.TV

T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R4

INTERNATIONAL

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7

Argentina ProvinceRecognizes Armenian

GenocideBUENOS AIRES (Agencia Prensa Armenia) — The

province of San Luis, Argentina, approved onNovember 21 a law of adhesion of the National Law26,199 that declares April 24 of every year as the“Day of Action for Tolerance and Respect betweenPeoples” in commemoration of the ArmenianGenocide, becoming the twentieth province to do so.The Chamber of Senators of San Luis voted unani-

mously for the formal recognition of the ArmenianGenocide and adhered to “the acts and events formemory and claim of the Armenian community” andundertook to “promote actions of commemoration atthe provincial level,” according to the approved pro-ject.“This adhesion of the Senate legislators takes

place in the context of the 10 years of the promulga-tion of the National Law and the declaration of theParlasur,” said Nicolas Sabuncuyan, director of theArmenian National Committee of Argentina. “It rati-fies the consensus that exists at a regional, nationaland federal level regarding one of the main issues ofthe Armenian Cause, and will be the platform for acloser work with the representatives of the people ofSan Luis, especially in the field of education and thememory transmission.”Article 4 of Law 26,199, enacted on December 13

2006 and promulgated on 11 January 2007, invitesprovincial governments to “adhere to the provi-sions.” The provinces that have already joined theNational Law are Buenos Aires, the Autonomous Cityof Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut,Córdoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Jujuy, La Pampa,La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Black,Salta, San Luis, San Juan, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe andTierra del Fuego.

Iran, Azerbaijan MostSerious Disagreements

Over Caspian SeaYEREVAN (Panorama.am) — Most of the disagree-

ments over the Caspian Sea issue exist between Iranand Azerbaijan, Armen Israyelyan, an expert onIranian studies, said on Facebook, adding that Russiais currently hosting a regular meeting of foreign min-isters of the Caspian littoral states, namely Russia,Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.The key purpose of the meeting is to discuss issuesover the legal status of the Caspian Sea emergedafter the break-up of the Soviet Union.According to the expert, following numerous meet-

ings, the five Caspian littoral states have still failedto elaborate an issue over the sea status, which willbecome a subject of discussion for all sides, sinceRussia and Kazakhstan hold talks in one format,while Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan cooperatein a different format.There is somewhat of a common denominator

between Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan over thelegal status of the Caspian Sea, with Iran andAzerbaijan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan and Iranand Turkmenistan still left to hold talks separatelyover the issue.

Delegation Headed byPresident of SwissParliament to Visit

YEREVAN (Armenpress) — Cochairman of theSwitzerland-Armenia parliamentary friendship groupDominique de Buman has been elected President ofthe lower house of the Swiss parliament, theNational Council. De Buman told La Gruyere that Armenia will be

among the first countries he will visit as President ofthe National Council. “There will be official visits bydelegations, first to Armenia during the period ofFebruary 3 -8. It is the country of my preferences. Ihave achieved the recognition of the ArmenianGenocide by the parliament,” he said. De Buman added that he also plans to pay official

visits to Brazil, France and Germany.

International News

FLYNN, from page 1According to a document obtained by

BuzzFeed News, the JusticeDepartment’s counter-espionage divi-sion contacted Flynn about his Turkeywork as early as November 30. Theyalso shared their suspicions with WhiteHouse counsel Don McGahn in January,a former senior Justice official toldBuzzFeed News.In the court filing released on Friday,

Flynn admitted that “officials from theRepublic of Turkey had provided super-vision and direction” over his firm’s lob-bying work, called the “Turkey project”in the document.While Flynn’s work for Turkey was

overshadowed by his guilty plea for lyingto the FBI about contacts with Russianofficials, Friday’s court filings were thefirst time the retired Army lieutenantgeneral has acknowledged that a foreigngovernment directed his actions while heserved on the Trump campaign. This con-tradicts previous statements by EkimAlptekin, the Turkish businessmanwhose company paid Flynn, and byTurkish officials, who have vehementlydenied that Flynn’s lobbying was con-nected to their government.“For the record: nobody remotely linked

to the Gov. of Turkey knew about Gen.Flynn’s article in advance and I wasn’tconsulted either,” Alptekin, an Erdoganally, tweeted on March 8, the day afterFlynn registered as a foreign agent.Alptekin did not return requests for

comment on Friday, but he has previ-ously disputed that he was “takingdirections from anyone in the govern-ment” of Turkey, had any ties toErdogan, or received money from theTurkish government to pay Flynn.Flynn’s registration with the Justice

Department shows that, as part of hiswork, he met with Turkey’s foreign min-ister, Mevlüt Cavusoglu, and energyminister, Berat Albayrak, at a hotel inNew York in September 2016. Albayrakis also Erdogan’s son-in-law.Flynn’s acknowledgment of the

Turkish government’s role in his workappears on the last page of a five-pagestatement of facts devoted primarily tospelling out in detail how he lied to FBIagents about his contacts with RussianAmbassador Sergey Kislyak, the actionsfor which he pleaded guilty.But under the heading “Other False

Statements Regarding FLYNN’s con-tacts with Foreign Governments,” thestatement of facts lays out how he alsofailed to disclose his work for Turkeyunder the Foreign Agent RegistrationAct, which requires US citizens wholobby on behalf of foreign governmentsto disclose their work to the JusticeDepartment within 10 days.Flynn signed the document, agreeing

“that it is true and correct.”Why Flynn was not charged with vio-

lating FARA is unknown. SpecialCounsel Robert Mueller included FARAviolations in charges he filed in Octoberagainst former Trump campaign chair-

man Paul Manafort.But even without an indictment,

Friday’s filings make it clear that Flynnwas aware that he was working onbehalf of Turkey even as he advisedTrump’s campaign and sat in on classi-fied intelligence briefings given to pres-idential candidates.It also raises anew questions about

what Trump and his other advisersknew of Flynn’s work. When Flynn’swork for Turkey became public, theWhite House said Trump was unaware.But Flynn’s lawyer has said that he

asked Trump’s transition team before theinauguration if Flynn should register as aforeign agent, and documents obtainedby BuzzFeed News show that the JusticeDepartment on Jan. 24 notified McGahn,the White House counsel, that Flynn wassuspected of working for Turkey.In the statement of facts filed in court

Friday, Flynn acknowledges lying to FBIagents about not knowing the extent ofthe Turkish government’s involvementin his work, about the purpose of hiswork, and about writing the Nov. 8,2016, commentary on his own initiative.Flynn’s contract with Alptekin,

through his firm Inovo BV, ended onNovember 15, three days before Trumpnominated him to be his national secu-rity adviser, according to JusticeDepartment filings. However, duringthe transition he made decisions thatconformed to some of his former client’stop priorities. In one case, Flynn halteda military operation against ISIS thatwould have partnered the US withKurdish forces that Turkey considers aterrorist faction.

(BuzzFeed News senior investigativereporter Jason Leopold contributed.)

Flynn Acknowledges He Took DirectionsFrom Turkey During Trump Campaign

Ex-Georgia LeaderFreed from PoliceIn KievKIEV, Ukraine (BBC) — Supporters of

former Georgian President MikheilSaakashvili freed him from a police van inUkraine’s capital Kiev on Tuesday,December 5, after his detention on suspi-cion of assisting a criminal organization.Saakashvili, 49, then urged the crowds

to impeach President Petro Poroshenko,a former ally.Saakashvili was made a Ukrainian citi-

zen in 2015, automatically losing hisGeorgian passport.He was stripped of his citizenship’s in

July and is now stateless.He has accused Poroshenko of failing

to root out corruption and being corrupthimself. Poroshenko has denied such alle-gations in the past.With one hand in handcuffs and sur-

rounded by hundreds of people,Saakashvili urged his supporters tomarch to the Ukrainian parliament.“I urge you to start a peaceful protest

to remove Poroshenko. You should not beafraid,” he said through a loudspeaker.Ukraine’s prosecutor general said

Saakhashvili had 24 hours to hand him-self over to the authorities.Earlier, before he was freed, masked

officers had dragged him from his home.Several people were injured in scuffles

between police and Saakashvili’s sup-porters.Saakashvili’s detention was part of an

operation “to disrupt a plan of revenge ofpro-Kremlin forces in Ukraine,”Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said.He is suspected of receiving financing

from a criminal group linked to oustedPresident Viktor Yanukovych, Lutsenkoadded.Prosecutors also released audio and

video recordings which they say provedthat Saakashvili and his supporters hadreceived hundreds of thousands of dollarsfrom the group.Saakashvili said the recordings were

fake.If found guilty, he could face up to five

years in jail.Saakashvili also faces the threat of

extradition to Georgia, where he is want-ed on corruption charges. He claims theaccusations are politically motivated.

Kurdish Forces Announce FullLiberation of Deir Ez-Zor, SyriaDEIR Ez-Zor (Washington Post) — The People’s Protection Units (YPG) said

on December 3 that the Kurdish fighters liberated the eastern countryside ofDeir ez-Zor with the help of the U.S.-led Coalition forces and Russia.The YPG said on

Sunday that its forcesfully cooperated withlocal tribes of the city.The Kurdish group

said the U.S.-ledCoalition and Russianforces had provided “airand logistical support,advice and coordinationon the ground.”Co-chair of the com-

mittee Nuri Mahmud,who represents theKurdish militias, stated that the Kurdish units were ready to ensure the secu-rity of the Russian servicemen, deployed along the eastern shore of theEuphrates.”Poplavsky’s statement, released Monday by the Russian Defense Ministry, was

seen as part of Moscow’s efforts to strengthen ties with the PKK-affiliated mili-tias. The Defense Ministry said among the delegation was the Russian GeneralYevgeny Poplavsky, one of the commanders of the Khmeimim Air Base, an air-base now operated by Russia in the Syrian city of Latakia.Syrian troops declared the city fully liberated on November 3.It was the first time that the Kurdish group voiced gratitude to Russian

Federation for its support.“The actions of people’s militia units against Daesh terrorists are support-

ed by Russian combat planes...”YPG spokesman Noureddine Mahmoud thanked Russian forces as well as

the US -led coalition for logistical and air support and said he hoped for morecoordination with the two global powers.Western diplomats said US Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield

asked the opposition’s negotiating delegation in Geneva a few days ago abouthow to include the Kurdish SDF units in the political process.In September, Russia accused the SDF of targeting Syrian regime forces

with artillery fire and even threatened to retaliate if the strikes repeat.Poplavsky, speaking at Sunday’s meeting involving tribal leaders from east-

ern Deir ez-Zor province, also noted that Russian military advisers helpedcoordinate their fight against the Daesh in the east.

Kurdish Forces in Deir Ez-Zor

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R 5

INTERNATIONAL

MOSCOW (AP) — The leaders of Russia,Turkey and Iran on Wednesday, November 22,discussed ways to promote a peaceful settle-ment in Syria, including the return of refugees,humanitarian aid and prisoners’ exchange,while fractured Syrian opposition groups weremeeting in Saudi Arabia in a bid to overcometheir divisions and form a united front forSyrian peace talks in Geneva.“Militants in Syria have received a decisive

blow, and there is a real chance to put an endto the civil war that has raged for many years,”Russian President Vladimir Putin said at thestart of talks with Turkish and Iranian counter-parts in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.Putin noted that political settlement will

require concessions from all sides, includingSyrian President Bashar Assad’s government.Assad made a surprise trip to Russia late

Monday for talks with Putin, which the Kremlinsaid were intended to lay the groundwork forWednesday’s trilateral meeting.Speaking after the three-way talks, Putin said

the Syrian leader pledged to conduct constitu-tional reforms and hold new elections underUN supervision.“The process of reforms isn’t going to be easy

and will require concessions and compromisesfrom all those involved, including the Syriangovernment,” he said.In their joint statement after the talks, Putin,

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and TurkishPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasizedthe need for all parties in the Syrian conflict torelease all prisoners and hostages, hand overbodies and search for those missing to help cre-ate conditions for a lasting cease-fire and thelaunch of political talks.They also called on other countries to pro-

vide humanitarian aid, clear Syrian territory ofmines and restore vital infrastructure destroyedby the war.“We have reached a consensus on helping

the transition to an inclusive, free, fair andtransparent political process that will be carriedout under the leadership and ownership of theSyrian people,” Erdogan said.Even though Russia and Iran have backed

Assad’s government since the start of theSyrian conflict in March 2011, while Turkey hassupported his foes, the three countries haveteamed up to help mediate a peace settlement.They have sponsored several rounds of talks

between the Syrian government and the opposi-tion in Astana, Kazakhstan, and also have bro-kered a truce between Syria’s government andthe rebels in four areas, helping reduce hostilities.UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq, asked

about the trilateral meeting of the leaders, said:“Our focus remains on the meetings that willbegin in Geneva on November 28. We hope thatall the other processes that are underway willcontribute to a successful round of talks inGeneva.”Meanwhile, the UN envoy for Syria, Staffan

de Mistura spoke at the opening of a three-daygathering of the Syrian opposition in Riyadh,where around 30 opposition groups are expect-ed to come up with a unified delegation and avision for the Geneva talks.De Mistura said he planned to have two

rounds of talks in Geneva in December. He isset to travel to Moscow later this week.“It is our common interest that today, you

elect the best and most inclusive team amongyourselves,” de Mistura said. “A strong, unifiedteam is a creative partner in Geneva and weneed that.”The Riyadh meeting, however, has already

been marred with disagreements. The notori-ously fragmented opposition is divided byvisions of a future role for Assad, the length ofa transitional period as well as the constitutionthat will see the country move toward elections.Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in

opening remarks that the opposition meetingcomes amid international consensus to reach aresolution.“There is no resolution to the crisis without

Syrian consensus that achieves the demands ofthe Syrian people and ends their suffering,” al-Jubeir said.Russia, which has welcomed the Saudi efforts

to unify the opposition, will also be hosting ameeting in Sochi that’s expected to bring theopposition and Syrian government together inearly December. Turkey and Iran pledgedWednesday to help the success of that meeting.Earlier this month, the first attempt to con-

vene it failed amid differences, reportedlyincluding the participation of Kurds.Turkey sees US-backed Syrian Kurdish fight-

ers as a terror group and an extension ofKurdish militants that have waged a three-decade-long insurgency inside its borders.Erdogan on Wednesday strongly reaffirmed

Turkey’s objection to Kurdish Syrian militiaplaying a part in negotiations on Syria’s future.“The exclusion from the process of terrorist

elements that target Syria’s political unity andterritorial integrity as well as our national secu-rity will continue to remain our priority,” hesaid. “No one should expect us to come underthe same roof, to appear on the same platformas a terror organization.”Russia has been involved in a delicate diplo-

matic dance, trying to engage the Kurds with-out offending Turkey. Putin’s spokesman,Dmitry Peskov, dodged a question aboutKurdish participation in the planned Sochimeeting, saying only that it should be “inclu-sive.”Putin, whose military intervention in the war

saved Assad’s government from imminentdefeat, called US President Donald Trump,Saudi King Salman, Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian PresidentAbdel-Fattah el-Sissi on Tuesday to brief themon his talks with Assad and coordinate theplanned peace efforts.Putin’s broad outreach highlighted a key role

Russia has come to play in the Syrian conflictand reflected Moscow’s desire to engage all keyplayers.Some of the opposition delegations in Riyadh

are backed by Gulf countries, which had sidedwith the anti-Assad rebellion, while others havebeen supported by Russia. Another oppositiongroup is backed by Egypt, which has also keptcontacts with the Syrian government.The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV said some

members of the Russia-backed delegation with-drew from the meeting. A member of the dele-gation, Qadri Jamil, said they backed out toobject other delegations putting conditions onthe talks, including limiting a future role forAssad. The Russia-backed opposition is promot-ing political reform under Assad’s rule.

Russia, Iran, Turkey Agree to Advance Syrian PeaceBy Vladimir Isachenkov and Sarah El Deeb

TORONTO — November 29, 2017 marked avictory in human rights for the people ofArgentina. The Escuela Mecánica de la Armada(ESMA) mega-trial, which took place over a peri-od of five years, has ended with the conviction of29 former officials of the military dictatorshipthat governed the nation from 1976 to 1983.They were sentenced to life in prison for theirroles in the former dictatorship’s practice ofkilling civilians by throwing them from aircraft.Federico Gaitan Hairabedian is the human

rights attorney that worked alongside theCenter for Legal and Social Studies (CELS)which represented the human rights groups inthis trial that just reached its final verdict.Gaitan Hairabedian was the first of many stu-

dents from Argentina to attend the

International Institute for Genocide andHuman Rights Studies’ (A Division of theZoryan Institute) annual Genocide and HumanRights University Program (GHRUP) in 2005.Since its launch in 2002, the program is heldannually in partnership with the University ofToronto History Department. This high-profile human rights trial put a

spotlight on the systematic torture and killingof thousands of people suspected of beingopponents of the military government. Theywere held in a clandestine detention center at anaval base in Buenos Aires on the orders of thejunta that ruled Argentina at that time. In aseries of hearings, witnesses recounted in chill-ing detail how civilians were drugged, loadedonto aircrafts and dumped into the waters off

the coast of Buenos Aires. Prosecutors tried 54former Argentinian officials in the deaths orforced disappearances of 789 people, and pre-sented testimony from more than 800 witness-es. While the practice has long been known,prosecutors managed to cross-reference testi-mony and documents to detail how one of themost atrocious tactics of Argentina’s dictator-ship was carried out.The trial also shed light on the complicity of

the Roman Catholic Church in the junta’scrimes. No member of the clergy was accused inthe trial, but prosecutors alleged that churchofficials were complicit in hiding detainees frominternational human rights inspectors.The Argentinian junta is said to have

detained, tortured and killed as many as 30,000

people it deemed “subversive.” In addition tokilling people suspected of being dissidents, mil-itary officials kidnapped hundreds of babieswho were then reared by families loyal to thegovernment.Gaitan Hairabedian followed in the footsteps

of his grandfather and mother, both humanrights lawyers that worked together to pass alaw for the Argentinian government to takeresponsibility in the search and pursuit of jus-tice for the disappeared persons. Since gradu-ating from the course, Gaitan Hairabedianbecame one of the founding members of ZoryanInstitute’s sister organization, the LuisaHairabedian Foundation. The Luisa Hairabedian Foundation and the

Zoryan Institute joined together to encourage anew generation of scholars, lawyers andactivists to engage in research, publication andpractice in the field of Genocide and HumanRights Studies. Year after year, the Institute isproud of graduates such as Gaitan Hairabedian,who promote the cause of universal humanrights awareness and prevention of genocide.

Federico Gaitan Hairabedian

IIGHRS Graduate Paves Way for Victory in Ground-Breaking Human Rights Case in Argentina

The many members of the military junta on trial in Argentina

6 S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

Community NewsPortantino BringsLusine Chinkezian onBoard SacramentoTeamGLENDALE — Recently state Sen. Anthony J.

Portantino (D–La Cañada Flintridge)announced the addition of Lusine Chinkezianto his Sacramento office staff. Chinkezian willbe working on broad public policy issuesincluding those of concern and impact to theArmenian American community in the 25thSenate District. She will also help staff theState Senate Select Committee on California,Armenia and Artsakh Trade, Art and CulturalExchange. Senator Portantino Chairs theCommittee.Chinkezian, who speaks fluent Armenian,

graduated from John Burroughs High Schoolin Burbank, is an attorney and a recent gradu-ate of UC Davis School of Law. Prior to that,she attended UC Berkeley, receiving a BA withDepartmental Honors in political science and aminor in Spanish.“I am very grateful and excited to have

Lusine join our staff. It is important for me tohave a representative who has significant pub-lic policy experience and understands theunique concerns within the district. Lusine hasattended high school in SD 25 which enablesher to better assess the needs of the districtand the Armenian American community,”observed Portantino. Chinkezian comes to the Senator’s staff from

the California Assembly Committee on theJudiciary, where as an intern she prepared billanalyses for the legislative record on issues ofeducation, civil law and public safety.Chinkezian was also the senior section editorfor the Journal of Juvenile Law and Policy dur-ing her time at UC Davis School of Law.“I’m so thankful and thrilled to join a team

that works tirelessly to ensure the success andwellbeing of the community at large in the 25thSenate District. In particular, SenatorPortantino’s strong advocacy for education isadmirable and I look forward to contributing tothat effort,” expressed Chinkezian.Portantino represents nearly 930,000 people

in the 25th Senate District, which includesAltadena, Atwater Village, Bradbury, Burbank,Claremont, Duarte, Glendale, Glendora, LaCañada Flintridge, La Crescenta, La Verne, LosFeliz, Monrovia, Montrose, Pasadena, SanDimas, San Marino, Shadow Hills, Sierra Madre,South Pasadena, Sunland-Tujunga, and Upland.

ATP’s 5.5 Million TreesHave Impacts on

People of Armenia WOBURN, Mass. — A new pair of winter boots for a daughter, a denture from

a husband to his wife, and tools for a young hairstylist to start a home-basedbusiness. These are some of the things the local villagers employed by ArmeniaTree Project (ATP) are planning on buying with their reimbursement for work-ing on an afforestation project in Tashir this fall.ATP’s Forestry and Community Tree Planting departments have wrapped up

the planting of another 160,767 trees this season, bringing the total to 248,491planted in 2017. Of this total,7,450 were fruit trees includingapricot, peach, pear, and wildapple.“We’re proud of our tree planti-

ng results. After this fall, we’ve planted a total of 5,464,991 trees and shrubssince 1994,” exclaimed Executive Director Jeanmarie Papelian. “The numberhas been growing steadily, and will continue to do so as we work hard to pro-tect and improve Armenia’s natural heritage by providing trees as well as envi-ronmental education to the people.”Tashir is a quiet town in the Lori region. It is the kind of place where people

don’t like to dream and prefer to live without expectations. And, unfortunately,due to high unemployment rates leading to increased emigration, that is thecase with most of rural Armenia. If you go to Tashir in spring or fall, the onlyexcitement or noise you’ll hear will be coming from ATP’s afforestation plotwhere men and women of all ages are clinking and clanking away to transformthe landscape. ATP has been operating in Tashir for the past three seasons and recruiting

temporary workers from the region to help with planting and maintenance ofthe trees. About 150 people are hired annually by ATP for reforestation projects,and the workers are paid based on the quantity of trees they plant. “It’s not easy at all. Go ahead, try,” says Arevik, who is from the nearby vil-

lage of Petrovka. She is the village school guard and has come to Tashir to plantwith her daughter. She is right. It is heavy work, no matter how soft the soil looks. “We think

it’s worth it, of course. We have a slightly different quality of life during planti-ng season. Our burden is a little less,” says Arevik as she continues to plant vig-orously. Arevik’s daughter is a self-taught hairdresser. With no barbershop in the vil-

lage, she’ll use her earnings from the planting to purchase tools and work outof her house. Across the field, Vahan is leaving a long trail of pines behind him. “I need to

get a denture for my wife, so I can kiss her again,” he jokes and quickly dodgessee TREES, page 8

ATP planted another quarter-of-a-million trees this year, which offer countless ben-efits to people and the environment

Armenian CongregationalChurch of Greater DetroitCelebrates CentennialAnniversary

By Rosette Tootikian

DETROIT — As the plans for the CentennialAnniversary of the Armenian CongregationalChurch of Greater Detroit unfolded, a wave ofenthusiasm pervaded the church family andfriends. The enthusiasm was evidenced first, bythe 16 members of the 100th AnniversaryCommittee, headed by Rodney Keteyian, whoaccepted their responsibilities cheerfully anddischarged them most efficiently. The same interest was demonstrated by the

members and friends of the church in theirprompt and generous response to theCentennial Anniversary Fund, established bythe Church Council on this milestone. The wave of enthusiasm was at its peak on

Saturday, November 18, with an overflowingattendance of more than 260 people at the PineLake Country Club, in Orchard Lake, Mich.Following the American and the Armenian

national anthems, rendered by Deacon RubikMailian, with the accompaniment of our ownSusan Harrison and the invocation of Rev. ShantBarsoumian, a sumptuous dinner was served tothe attendees of the banquet. Preceding themeal, however, delicious appetizers were offeredby the Pine Lake Country Club.Christmas ornaments were placed on the

tables for each attendee, donated by an anony-mous member of the church as a mementofrom the Centennial Anniversary banquet.The Master of Ceremonies, Rodney Keteyian

introduced the Southfield Mayor Kenson J.Siver and welcomed the guests. After which theceremonial cutting of the anniversary cake bythe present Pastor Rev. Shant Barsoumian, theformer Pastor Rev. Makarios Darawi and theMinister Emeritus Rev. Dr. Vahan H. Tootikianwith the enthusiastic singing of HappyAnniversary to the ACC. Taking part in the program with three to five

minutes of brief but meaningful testimonieswere given by Mark Kadian, Chairman, Boardof Trustees, Rev. Shant Barsoumian, Pastor,Michael Banerian, representing the Youth ofACC. Carole Basmadjian, President, Women’sChristian Fellowship, Rodney Keteyian,Chairman, Centennial Anniversary Committee,Dr. Richard Marburger, former long-timeModerator, Rev. Dr. Vahan H. Tootikian,Minister Emeritus. An Armenian poem dedicat-ed to the Armenian Church by poet VahanTekeyian, entitled “The Armenian Church,” wasrecited by Dr. Taline Hagopian.The entertainment part of the program includ-

ed six bilingual musical selections, both of reli-gious and patriotic nature. The performing artistwas the talented Deacon Rubik Mailian, accom-panied by Susan Harrison. The program beganwith an Armenian Sharagan, Dér Gétso alongwith Armenian popular songs from composersYegmalian, Babajanian, Hovanissian, and Italianand English selection, and closed with aChristmas Carol. The atmosphere was very pleas-ant and warm, all those who were presentseemed to be in a good mood of celebration.One of the celebration’s pleasant and heart-

warming surprises was the generous donationof $5,000.00 by Mike and Maral Arzoumanian,which enabled the Centennial Committee toreach its avowed goal of raising $100,000 onthe church’s 100th anniversary.The memorable evening came to an end with

the singing of the Hayr Mer and the benedic-tion of the clergy of the Greater DetroitArmenian churches. A Commemorative Book was given to the

attendees. The pictorial booklet consisted of let-ters by church and civic dignitaries as well asinstitutional information about the church.The Centennial Anniversary committee members

should be commended for their superb perfor-mance. They provided ample evidence, that they arecapable of achieving great accomplishments.

By Ani Melkonian

Neponsit ValleyArmeniansNORWOOD, Mass. — Neponsit Valley

Armenians announce three Saturdaymorning activities for families in theNeponsit Valley and its contiguous andsurrounding towns. Sponsored by theAmaras Art Alliance, the first in theseries will be Armenian Christmas,Saturday, January 6, 2018. Families will engage in an interactive

and participatory reading of the birth ofJesus, followed by an ArmenianChristmas craft. Vartanantz Day and thebeginning of Lent will be observed onSaturday, February 10 when the chil-dren will learn the story of St. Vartanand prepare a Lenten calendar. On Saturday, March 24, the children

will observe Palm Sunday, reenact Jesus’entry into Jerusalem, prepare ArmenianEaster eggs and play the traditionalArmenian egg game. The program is free but registration is

required. To register for the series, loca-tion in Norwood and time contactNeponsitvalleyarmenians@gmail.com.

BOSTON — A parent will do anything to helphis or her child live a normal life. But, what ifyour child were born with a life-altering birth-mark on their face? There is technology to treatyour child, but you have no access to it. And evenit there is access to it overseas, that costs a lot ofmoney which the parents very probably do nothave. This was the case, before we came toYerevan, Armenia to change the lives of thesechildren. Children in Armenia, born with red and purple

birthmarks on their face or body, live with lifealtering conditions that leaves them isolated andostracized, ridiculed by other children in school,and deprived of a normal childhood. Althoughnot life threating, these skin conditions have ahuge psychological impact on a child’s life. In theUnited States and in most developed countries,these birthmarks, known as vascular anomalies,are treated shortly after birth with simple med-ical laser procedures. Such procedures for treat-ing vascular birthmarks and scars, developed byHarvard Professor Dr. Rox Anderson, were madespecifically to remove the birthmarks, withoutthe need for conventional surgery. Millions ofchildren worldwide, born with vascular anom-alies, have benefited from these laser treatments,which have changed the trajectory of their entirelives.In Armenia, these children were left untreated,

because this technology did not exist. Untreated,these birthmarks become darker in color,increase in size and cause facial deformities.Unfortunately, as these children become adults,they become more isolated from their communi-ties, and from the world. The shame associatedwith these lesions keeps most of them at home,as going out in public leads to uncomfortableinteractions. When red birthmarks are locatedaround the eyes, it can lead to increased pressureinside the eye, which if not diagnosed and treat-ed, leads to blindness. This type of blindness iscompletely preventable, if the screening andtreatment are started early.There is nothing more deeply satisfying for

doctors, than to help a child in need, and givethem the opportunity to live a normal life.Successful treatment of a child enhances thequality of life of the tight knit, extended family.This is the reason Dr. Lilit Garibyan’s team decid-ed to go Yerevan, and make history, by bringingmedical laser technology, treatments, educationand training for the children with vascular anom-alies and scars.Led by Garibyan, a Yerevan native, currently

assistant professor of dermatology at HarvardMedical School, a team comprising dermatolo-gists and laser experts was assembled to travel

from the US to Yerevan to establish a medicallaser clinic. Garibyan initiated these efforts as aresident in Dermatology at MassachusettsGeneral Hospital/ Harvard Medical School, andwas doing her postdoctoral fellowship withAnderson. This facilitated the task of obtaininglasers directly from companies that manufac-ture them, such as Candela-Syneron andQuanta. Anderson is world-renowned for his contribu-

tions to laser medicine. In addition, he has con-ducted similar missions in Vietnam with Dr.Thanh Nga Tran, who was a classmate and co-resident with Garibyan at Harvard. At the time,Garibyan was also actively involved withArmenian-American Medical Association inBoston and served as their secretary for numberof years, which helped make connections withArmenian doctors. Serendipitously, at the sametime, another Armenian-American dermatologist,Dr. Christine Avakoff, was looking for a team oflaser experts to travel to Armenia, with her totrain a local doctor there, to perform laser treat-ment for vascular anomalies. Avakoff was aboutto retire and wanted to donate one of her ownlasers to the Armenian American WellnessCenter in Yerevan.

Garibyan also enlisted the help of her col-league and friend, Dr. Ray Jalian, who is also alaser fellowship-trained Armenian dermatologistworking in Los Angeles. This core team consist-ing of Garibyan, Anderson, Jalian and Avakoff,have worked closely together and made severaltrips to Yerevan to accomplish their goal of bring-ing much needed medical laser technology to thechildren of Armenia. Their team also received much needed help

from Dr. Nishan Goudsouzian, an anesthesiolo-gist at Massachusetts General Hospital, who hadclose ties with Arabkir Medical Center inYerevan. Goudsouzian traveled with the team toYerevan and performed the general anesthesiafor the children who were treated there.Since 2013, when the team first traveled to

Yerevan for this mission, they have now estab-lished two main centers in Yerevan, where med-ical laser treatments are done to treat childrenand adults. The two centers are the ArmenianAmerican Wellness Center and Arabkir MedicalCenter where for the first time, patients canreceive laser treatments for vascular anomaliesand scars. Garibyan’s team has not only given lectures

on the role of laser treatment of vascular anom-alies, but has also educated the physicians on themedical management of these conditions and theassociated side effects, such as blindness. Everypatient with vascular anomaly known as port-

wine stain around the eye, is now being screenedfor increased eye pressure, to start treatmentbefore blindness occurs. Sadly, this associationwas not known to the doctors in Armenia, andmultiple children and adults with port-wine-stainaround the eye already had blindness in that eye.Thanks to this mission work, this unnecessarycause of blindness will no long happen. Young children with another type of vascular

anomaly known as hemangioma, are now beingmanaged with oral medications, such as propra-nolol, instead of undergoing unnecessary andinvasive surgical procedures, which may leavescars. Hundreds of children and adults have now

been treated with vascular medical lasers toremove red birthmarks from their faces, givingthem another chance at a normal life. This med-ical laser mission has now taken four differentlasers, worth over $400,000, to Armenia capableof treating multiple vascular anomalies andscars. The hope for the donations is to makemedical laser treatments accessible and afford-able to everyone. Last month, this team evensponsored the travel and educational training, ofone of the physicians from Armenia, Dr. HovikStepanyan, to Boston, for the Harvard MedicalSchool Laser Training course. Stepanyan, whoknew nothing about medical lasers before thetraining started, has now become an expert inlaser treatments of vascular anomalies. He hascompleted several hundred medical laser treat-

ments for patients in Armenia at the ArmenianAmerican Wellness Center. He has given two lec-tures in Spain and in Russian on the laser treat-ment outcome of his patients from Armenia. Hehas patient referrals from as far as Ukraine whotravel to Armenia for consultation and treatmentwith him. “There is no better way for me to give back to

Armenia than use the education and training I

have been fortunate to obtain in the US, to helpchildren in Armenia,” Garibyan stated. “I havetruly been blessed to live in the United States, tograduate from Harvard Medical School with anMD and PhD degrees, to complete residencytraining in dermatology at Harvard, and to meetDr. Rox Anderson, who has become my mentor.But I can’t forget where I came from, and thepeople and children of Armenia who suffer fromtreatable skin conditions. The impact of thesetreatments was clearly apparent to me on ourlast trip to Armenia in 2016. A mother of ayoung girl with a facial birthmark, who hadalready received 4 laser treatments at the AAWC,and had obtained great results, hugged all of uswith tearful eyes. Even though she could notspeak English, her warm and grateful embracetold all of us how appreciative she was of thiswork.”Garibyan said she encourages everyone in the

community to help. If interested in gettinginvolved and helping, contact Dr. Lilit Garibyanat lgaribyan@mgh.harvard.edu

7S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMUNITY NEWS

Lasers Provide Ray of Light for ChildrenAnd Adults Suffering in Armenia

Dr. Rox Anderson, Dr. Lilit Garibyan, Dr. Christine Avakoff and Dr. Hovik Stepanyan at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine in MGH. Dr. Stepanyantraveled from Yerevan to Boston to attend the Harvard Medical School CME Laser Training Course in November 2017.

Dr. Ray Jalian, Dr. Hovik Stepanyan, Dr. Lilit Garibyan, Dr. Christine Avakoff and Dr. JohnPoochigian at the Armenian American Wellness center which is the other medical laser center theyhave established in Armenia.

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R8

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WORCESTER — Mary Atamian, 93, ofWorcester, passed away at home on Wednesday,November 22. She was born in Worcester to Charles and

Yougaper Thompson.She is survived by her husband of 70 years,

Eli, their two sons, Elias A. Atamian and his

wife Jean-Marie, and Edward C. Atamian, andhis wife, Susan; grandsons Ross, Kirk, William,and Elias John and his wife Rebecca; a sisterArek Thompson; a sister-in-law VirginiaAtamian; and several nieces and nephews.Her daughter Rosemary died in 2001. She

was also predeceased by her two brothers,Nishan and George, and her sister-in-lawJosephine Thompson.She loved spending her winters in Florida

and summers at Cape Cod. She enjoyed read-

ing, was a great card player and an even bettercook. She was a people person and alwaysenjoyed the company of her family and friends.To know Mary was to love her. As a friend ofher once said, “There is a humanitarian side toMary that very few people know about, peoplewill do anything for Mary.” She was a personwith a big heart and big ideas.As a lifelong volunteer and activist whose

passion would extend that skill and desire tofundraising, she did it with real style.She coordinated many events and sponsored

various fundraising activities for those in thecommunity including organizing fashion showsto benefit Hope Lodge, Cystic Fibrosis,Woman’s Club Scholarship of Uxbridge andThe Armenian Church of Our Saviour. She alsoorganized “High Fever Frolics,” a musical revuethat benefited Memorial Hospital.She received numerous honors and awards

including the American Cancer Society Award,the John J. Calabro and Sidney WilenskyHumanitarian Award by the ArthritisFoundation, the Massachusetts Easter SealParker Trowbridge Founders Award, WorcesterWomen’s History Project Award, UMassMemorial Foundation Award, and the ArmenianAssembly of America Award.The family thanks Rev. Aved Terzian, pastor

of the Armenian Church of Our Saviour, for hislove and support, her caregivers Michelle,Sandra, Janet, Carla and Shelia, and the staff atJewish Healthcare Hospice. Her funeral service was held Saturday,

November 25, at the Armenian Church of OurSaviour, 87 Salisbury Street, Worcester.

Mary Atamian Lifelong Community Volunteer

OBITUARY

TREES, from page 6a punch from her. By the time the project iscomplete, everyone on the field is a little clos-er to each other and to their natural sur-roundings. “Trees give us so much to be thankful for,

and most people don’t even know half of it,”says Papelian, “Trees are how we create jobs inArmenia. How we help people improve theirstandard of living as well as the environment.”The trees are supplied by ATP’s four nurs-

eries, which provide full-time employment toseveral dozen local villagers, many of whom areArmenian refugees from Azerbaijan. Trees arealso purchased from ATP’s award-winningBackyard Nursery Micro-Enterprise Program,which is another way people benefit from theorganization.“This year the backyard nurseries expanded

to include 19 families,” explains Papelian. “Theway it works is ATP gives these families seedsand trains them in propagation. Once grown,ATP buys the seedlings and replants them in

nearby regions.”About 5,000 of the trees planted this fall

were purchased from families in AghavnavankVillage who are part of the program. Next year,ATP expects to purchase even more seedlingsfrom the backyard nursery owners. The projectwas named Energy Globe Award Winner forArmenia at the European Parliament.ATP also traveled to remote border villages,

distributing fruit trees to households as a wayto ensure food security and fortify the popula-tions’ roots in the land. It is estimated thatATP’s trees produced a yield of 1.5 millionpounds of fruit this year alone.“With the support of the diaspora, we are

proving there is a way to improve human wel-fare through trees,” concludes Papelian.“Together we are making Armenia a greenerand better place to live in. Selfless acts likeplanting trees have positive ripple effectswhich can be felt for generations to come. Wehope everyone will Get Rooted with ATP andwatch it grow.”

ATP’s 5.5 Million Trees HaveImpacts on People of Armenia

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COMMUNITY NEWS

By Aram Arkun Mirror-Spectator Staff

DÉCINES, France — One of the largest cen-ters of Armenian population in France is inDécines, a suburb of Lyon in the Rhônes-Alpesregion. Here, along with other Armenian insti-tutions, all located on the same Rue de 24 avril1915 (“April 24, 1915 Street,” a street namesymbolically given on the 50th anniversary ofthe Armenian Genocide in 1965), is the newCentre National de la Mémoire Arménienne, orNational Center of Armenian Memory (CNMA,www.cnma.fr). The goal of CNMA, according to its brochure,

is “to restore to the populations of Armenianorigin in France and Europe their capacity ofcultural transmission, encumbered by systemat-ic destruction and their deterritorialization ofone hundred years ago.” Its target audienceincludes French Armenians, researchers, stu-dents and any person interested in history andculture. The CNMA opened on October 20, 2013 with

both the French Minister of Culture andCommunication and the Armenian minister ofthe diaspora present, along with various localpoliticians and the Armenian ambassador toFrance. Its unique architectural plan won thePrize of Honor of the GPAU Rhône for 2013.The CNMA was conceived in 2006 by the staffof the Maison de la Culture Arménienne (Houseof Armenian Culture, MCA] of Décines. According to the CNMA website, leaders of

the Armenian community were “desiring toinscribe their history in that of the Frenchrepublic.” This approach of presentingArmenian history in the context of French val-ues and history is stressed in the website, whichgoes on to declare (in French) that “beyond theuniversal values of the French Republic,” allow-ing French Armenians to know their history,including the reason for the exodus of theirancestors and their manner of integration intoFrench society, “helps to live a double cultureserenely.” This dual approach is no doubt solidified by

the dual source of funding, approximately halffrom Armenian donations and loans, and halffrom French regional, provincial and municipalstate bodies. Though a new institution, the origins of the

CNMA are intimately connected to several ear-lier organizations, beginning with the Maison

du peuple Arménien [House of the ArmenianPeople], built in 1932 primarily through theefforts of the Armenian RevolutionaryFederation, including some leaders of the firstRepublic of Armenia like Arshag Jamalian, andaffiliated circles. This rallying ground forArmenians was revitalized in 1977 andrenamed the MCA, as part of a movement togive greater vitality to Armenian culture and

the Armenian cause in France. There are MCA’sin other cities of France. The MCA of Décines in 1980 in turn created

the Centre d’études, de documentation et d’in-formations arméniennes (CEDIA), with alibrary of over 6,000 works and 30,000 micro-fiches, as well as photographic and video docu-mentation. Its goal was the preservation andtransmission of Armenian culture through its

library and various activities. In 2006, the MCA decided to take its activi-

ties onto a higher level, more academic andorganized, and intended for a broader audience,so it adopted the CNMA project. It decided tobuy the necessary real estate for this. In 2011the work of constructing the building began.Today the CNMA has two fulltime staff mem-

bers, Daniel Meguerditchian, the cultural coor-dinator, and Marie Picot, who is responsible forthe documentary materials.Meguerditchian stated that his academic

background is in ancient Armenian history. Hehas in particular done research on RomanArmenia, including the period of Lucullus andHadrian. He has a postgraduate Diplôme d’é-tude approfondies (something akin to the all-but-dissertation stage in US academia) from theUniversity of Lyon III in ancient history.However, in part through his job, he also hasdeveloped an expertise in 19th-centuryArmenian nationalism, the Armenian massacres

and genocide, and the story of Armenianrefugees in France. In the earlier part of hiseducation, he obtained a master’s degree fromthe University of Paris I, where he studied polit-ical science. He said that this helps greatly inhis present work. Meguerditchian runs the cultural and peda-

gogical elements of the CNMA, and lectures onArmenian issues as well as being responsible for

the personnel of the institution and its out-reach efforts through the Internet and socialmedia. He was involved in the original organi-zation of the center, and earlier, as secretary ofthe Conseil de coordination des organisationsarméniennes de France [Council ofCoordination of Armenian Organizations] ofthe Rhône-Alpes region, worked toward the cre-ation of the Armenian Genocide monument in

the center of the city of Lyon (2006). CNMA’s first goal is to document and pre-

serve Armenian memory and heritage in thediaspora. For this purpose, it has a multilingualcollection of books, audiovisual media, pho-tographs, historical documents. It includes alending library of over 6,000 books for adults,220 for children, and many DVDs as well asperiodicals. Its non-lending archives include10,000 documents, maps and books, as well as1,000 audiovisual items and several thousandphotographs. It has been digitally scanning itsworks to make them available throughOpenSource, and its resources are listedthrough theFrench UniversitySystem ofDocumentation( S y s t è m eUniversitaire deDocumentationf r a n ç a i s e —SUDOC), andsince 2016,CNMA has beensupported by theFrench Ministryof HigherEducation andResearch throughC o l l e x(“Collections ofExcellence”). Itsbibliographicalwork contributesnot only toFrench libraries but also those of Armenia. Secondly, it is involved in teaching to trans-

mit memory. CNMA approximately one year agoentered into a partnership with the CatholicUniversity of Lyon in order to prepare juristsand others working for the defense of humanrights. This program requires many differentintellectual disciplines. The university studentsvisit the CNMA, and sometimes there are inter-ships on Armenian history and its connectionwith human rights history. In addition, studentsin library sciences come to the CNMA. The uni-versity has a chair of Armenology which in thetheology division run by Maxime Yevadian(http://sourcesdarmenie.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=37). Efforts are underway to develop a partner-

ship with the University of Lyon. In addition, primarily for secondary school

students, who must study the ArmenianGenocide as part of their curriculum, as well asfor university students, CNMA offers two types

of educational workshops. The first one iscalled “the act of genocide, through the case ofthe genocide of the Armenians,” and uses thepoint of view of a civilian population in totalwar to examine the Armenian Genocide com-parative to other genocides. It is given at CNMAor can also be organized outside in other insti-tutions. The second workshop is called the “cit-izen trajectory,” and includes a visit with com-mentary to the Armenian quarter of Décines, tostudy how foreign refugees like the Armenianscould through several generations become fullyintegrated French citizens. It examines ques-tions of multiple identities and conflicts in dailylife. Over 2,000 students have taken these work-shops since 2013. Groups of interested adultscan also be accommodated in workshops.Thirdly, it organizes expositions and out-

reach activities throughout the year to makethe memory and heritage living. It collabo-rates with local organizations and largeFrench national institutions. Among thelarge exhibitions it has put together are “TheArmenian Book from the Renaissance to theEnlightenment: A Culture in Diaspora” withthe Bibliothèque Mazarine in 2013, “TheCentury of Genocides” with the ShoahMemorial of Paris in 2014, and “TheGenocide of the Armenians: Stigmatize,Destroy, Exclude,” again with the ShoahMemorial, in 2016. It also participates in con-ferences and events organized on various uni-versal questions such as human rights andoppression. While all this is academic work or its popu-

larization, Meguerditchian explained that it alsomay have an indirect political influence, as atype of “soft power” of the Armenian commu-nity. After discussing the difficulties of life in

the diaspora, Meguerditchian said, “I thinkthat it is truly a question of general interestfor the Armenians throughout the diasporato force themselves to get out of their narrowByzantine circles in order to concentrate onwhat is important.” The collective experienceof the Armenians in diaspora in the period ofmodernity, he continued, contains both

unique elements as well as universal ones,and studying it can be fruitful for bothArmenians and for humanity. Consequently,it must be disseminated broadly. At the sametime, the Armenians themselves no matterwhich country they live in would benefit bybeing aware of their history.Aside from lectures and local events, the

CNMA has supported from 2014 a theater com-pany in residence called la Compagnie de cre-ation théâtrale Saté-Âtre, which uses both theFrench and Armenian languages. The CNMA building serves as a center for

other Armenian organizations besides theCNMA and the theatrical company. The MCAruns a weekly Armenian school there, and pro-vides French language classes for new immi-grants, as well as courses in music, dance, art,and cultural activities. Finally, a restaurantcalled ARA (Association RestaurationArménien) operates on the ground floor of theCNMA building, and its revenues support theactivities of the CNMA.

National Center of Armenian Memory in Décines, FrancePromotes Armenian Studies and Culture

The National Center of Armenian Memory in Décines, France

The two fulltime staff members of the CNMA: Daniel Meguerditchian, the cultural coordinator, andMarie Picot, responsible for the documentary materials

The menu for the ARA restaurant in the CNMA building.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

HONORS, from page 1statewide, but globally. He is the founder, CEO and senior man-aging partner of Flagship Pioneering, a Cambridge-based incu-bator for life sciences companies. The firm’s FlagshipVentureLabs is where its team of scientific entrepreneurs turn far-fetched ideas into reality.

Compassion in Intolerant Times

Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Boston) kicked off the evening byspeaking before the formal portion of the program. He stressedthat support for the IINE was especially important now. Aftercongratulating Afeyan, he said that the honoree representedthe best of history, traditions and values.“Given the times we are in, we need to take a moment to

understand our histories and stories,” Kennedy said.Immigrants are all around and they add to the mix, he said, not-ing that during the evening, he had met people from Sudan,Afghanistan, Congo, Syria and Iraq, among others. “It is prettyextraordinary,” he said. “I am cognizant of my own family ’s his-tory,” he said, including his mother’s side, who fled religiousintolerance in Europe to his father’s side who fled Ireland foreconomic reasons. He continued with the theme of compassion, speaking about

the Choctaw Nation whose members, forcibly moved by the USgovernment to Oklahoma from their homes in the Southeastafter a long march on the Trail of Tears in the 1830s, had sentmuch of their savings to the starving victims of the Potato

Famine in Ireland in the 1840s.He asked what it would mean when “society says no to those

fleeing danger.” He also said that “polarization and tweets” arenot what this country is about. Shari Loessberg, a member of the IINE Board of Directors,

read a letter from the president of the Massachusetts Instituteof Technology, L. Rafael Reif, in which he said he was “thrilledto hear of the selection and am deeply grateful for your servicesto MIT.”Dr. Afeyan is a member of the Corporation (Board of

Trustees) of MIT, from which he had received his PhD in bio-chemical engineering in 1987. He is a former senior lecturer atthe university’s Sloan School of Management. He is currently alecturer at Harvard Business School.

Helping Immigrants

IINE has three centers — Boston, Lowell and Nashua, NH.According to one staffer, the individual refugees are often reset-tled in Boston whereas families go to the other two locationsbecause of housing costs in Boston.IINE President and CEO Jeffrey Thielman, who at the start of

the program greeted every single person walking into the hall,praised the evening’s honoree for all he has done for immi-grants. He also gave the grim statistics that currently aroundthe world there are 65 million displaced persons, with 22 mil-lion refugees.“It is the greatest humanitarian crisis our generation,”

Thielman said.Thielman also gave some information about the IINE. He noted

that last year the organization had helped 2,000 persons in NewHampshire and Massachusetts from 66 different countries.He praised the evening’s honoree, saying “people need you to

make a difference in the years to come.”

Another speaker, Rob Perez, founder andchair of Life Sciences Cares, said his organiza-tion “collectively aggregates resources anddeploys them toward [battling] poverty inBoston.” Perez said that by helping provide“economic survivability” to the poor residentsof Massachusetts, the biotech community wasable to give back. He also announced establish-ing a partnership with IINE before saying thatAfeyan is “one of the architects of our industry.”Another speaker was Stelios Papadopoulos,

chair of the board of Biogen, who also chairedthis year’s Golden Door Award.A Greek immigrant himself, he stressed that

often in reality there is little difference betweenrefugees and immigrants once they land in theirnew country. They often suffer from similarproblems, poverty and lack of familiarity withthe new country. He also suggested thatrefugees and immigrants often become innova-tors. He noted that “21 percent of companies [inbiotech] were started by immigrants or childrenof immigrants — a bunch of foreigners,” hejoked.The US, he said, has traditionally appreciated

diversity, “though there is a temporary lapse injudgment and ineptitude” at this moment. He spoke about meeting Afeyan 30 years ago

while the latter was at MIT.“Noubar is not smart; he is off the charts,” he

said. “He has the uncanny ability to see thefuture as yesterday.”Papadopoulos read a letter from Dr. Vartan

Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation of New Yorkand the former president of Brown University. “I congratulateyou and the International Institute of New England for theirwisdom for their selection of Noubar,” he had written. “Heknows that with wealth comes responsibility. He now is deter-mined to give back. … To me he personifies the spirit of plural-ity.”

Honoring Afeyan

Previous winners of the Golden Door Award have includedformer Massachusetts Supreme Court Chief Justice MargaretMarshall, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Stephen Mugar, making Afeyanthe 36th US citizen of foreign birth to receive the honor.The Golden Door is derived from a quote at the foot of the

Statute of Liberty which concludes with the lines “Send these,the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the gold-en door!”Afeyan, when he finally came on stage to pick up his award,

confessed that he was going to talk far longer than usualbecause he had so much to cover. He praised the IINE andadded, “The life sciences community gathering to support themis very important in creating a lot of financial resources” forthem. “We have to take a bigger and bigger responsibility” inthe state.Not only is he an immigrant, he said, but his many close

friends who had attended the evening supporting him were alsoimmigrants from the Middle East.He gave some background on himself, from his birth and

growing up in Lebanon, which he and his family fled becauseof the civil war, to landing as refugees in Montreal, Canada in1975. Yet he went back further, detailing the story of his ances-tors’ survival in the former Armenian lands in the OttomanEmpire during the Armenian Genocide. His father’s family camefrom Adabazar and his mother’s from Urfa. One grandfathereventually found his way to Bulgaria while another ended up inLebanon.“Anywhere we move, people have to worry. Calamity follows

us,” he joked.On a more serious note he continued, “All innovation is intel-

lectual immigration. The feeling of utter fear and determinationwhen we try to discover some new technology.”That is why, he suggested, “immigrants aspire to fields of

innovation.”He spoke at length about the Armenian Genocide and how it

had affected his family. His grandfather and a brother had got-ten a second chance on the very last stop on the Baghdad-Berlin train, on which they were forced to travel, part of thethrongs sent to die in the forced marches along the Deir ZorDesert. They were saved by a German officer at the very lastmoment because they spoke German. They, in turn, were ableto save many Armenians that followed them on the train.Reading an excerpt from Peter Balakian’s The Burning

Tigris, he noted his debt of gratitude to the US for all its citi-zens had done to help the victims of the Armenian Genocide.In a hall “a couple of blocks away,” he said, at Faneuil Hall. “It’s November 26, 1894, the Monday before Thanksgiving, a

windy and clear evening, as men and women file into FaneuilHall from all over Boston and from the suburbs of Cambridge,Watertown, Winchester, and as far out as Quincy and Andover.They have come to this public meeting place near the harbor totalk about the most pressing international human rights issueof the day,” the massacre of the Armenians by the Ottoman gov-ernmen, he read.This, he said, led to the creation of the first US self-organized

effort to help people outside the US. The group raised what isequal to $1 billion in today’s currency, before evolving into theNear East Foundation and going under the control of the USCongress.Then he switched to Syria, where the civil war has led to the

deaths of millions and the forcible evacuation of millions of oth-ers. Armenia has accepted more than 20,000 Syrian refugees,he said, “when they realized that 100 years ago, a whole lot ofpeople took them.”He dedicated a large portion of his acceptance speech to

explaining his latest philanthropic endeavor in the Armenianworld, the Aurora Prize for Humanity, which is “gratitude inaction.”In essence, the organization gifts one individual with a

$100,000 award for their humanitarian actions and gives themthe chance to pick, in turn, a group that has inspired them withtheir humanity and gift them up to $1 million and to keep thecycle of giving going.According to the group’s website, the Aurora Prize parent

group, the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative (AHI) was launchedon behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and ingratitude to their saviors. Those fortunate few who survivedwere saved by the courageous and heroic acts of institutionsand individuals who intervened, at great risk. A century later,the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative seeks to express gratitude,share remarkable stories of survivors and their saviors, and cel-ebrate the strength of the human spirit.The Aurora Prize was founded jointly by Afeyan, Vartan

Gregorian and Ruben Vardanyan. Afeyan serves on the boards of the Boston Symphony

Orchestra, the Armenian General Benevolent Union, the IDeAFoundation, the UWC Dilijan College in Armenia, and theFoundation for Armenian Science and Technology.

continued on next page

Immigrant and Refugee Aid Group Honors Afeyan

Stelios Papadopoulos, chair Biogen

Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Boston) with guest Purni Karki

Dr. Noubar Afeyan

11S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

from previous page

Giving Voice to Immigrants

Several immigrants and refugees were amongthe speakers. The program was kicked off by U-Meleni Mhalaba-Abedo and RodgigueKalambayi as part of Suitcase Stories. Mhalaba-Abedo been born in the US but eventuallyreturned to Africa, witnessing the birth of mod-ern Zimbabwe from Rhodesia and the disman-tling of Apartheid in South Africa. Eventuallyshe made her way back to Boston.Kalambayi of Congo, spoke about the murder

of his father and later he and his mother andnumerous siblings made their way to Ugandawhere they lived for 11 years before makingtheir way to the US. “I am so happy, going toschool. I have a job for the first time in 11 years.I can smile again. I can dream again.”Another speaker was Tamara Jasim, a refugee

from Iraq, who spoke about the hard years theyfaced in Iraq before fleeing first to NorthernIraq, then Turkey and finally the US. Her hus-band, Ahmed, an electrical engineer, worked forthe government and was therefore consideredsuspect. She, her husband and their then 2-year-old son were helped in resettlement in theUS, where volunteers from IINE met them atLogan Airport and directly took them to theirnew furnished apartment in Lowell. Now, shesaid, her husband works as a technician and thecouple have bought a home in Tyngsboro,where their children go to school.With deep emotion, she thanked those gath-

ered and in return, received thunderousapplause.To learn more about the International

Institute, visit iine.org; for more about AuroraPrize visit auroraprize.com.

Immigrant and RefugeeAid Group Honors Afeyan

NEW YORK — The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative announcedthis week that Former United States Ambassador to the UnitedNations Samantha Power is the newest member of the AuroraPrize for Awakening Humanity Selection Committee. As a partof the Selection Committee, Power will join the other humani-tarians, human rights activists and former heads of state to deter-mine future recipients for the annual $1.1 million Aurora Prize.“We are very excited to welcome

Ambassador Power to the AuroraPrize Selection Committee. Withher notable experience on the worldstage, she has made great strides inaiding those in the developing worldand standing up for the most vul-nerable members of our global com-munity,” said Noubar Afeyan, co-founder of the Aurora HumanitarianInitiative. “With her unparalleledexpertise in human rights aroundthe world, we are honored that shewill review Aurora Prize nomina-tions and help shape the future ofthe Aurora Prize.”Power served as the 28th US rep-

resentative to the United Nations and as a member ofPresident Obama’s cabinet, and became known as one of thecountry’s foremost thinkers on foreign policy. Prior to herwork at the United Nations, she served on the US NationalSecurity Council as special assistant to the president andsenior director for multilateral affairs and human rights,where she focused on atrocity prevention, United Nationsreform, LGBT and women’s rights and the promotion of reli-gious freedom, among other issues. She also authored thePulitzer Prize-winning book, A Problem from Hell: Americaand the Age of Genocide. Given her influential work in humanrights and democracy, she has been recognized several timesover, including as one of TIME’s “100 Most InfluentialPeople” and Foreign Policy’s “Top 100 Global Thinkers.”“The Aurora Prize and its laureates recognize that, while it

is essential to remember past atrocities, we each have thepower to assist those who are saving lives in the present,” saidPower. “I take great pride in being part of the prize’sSelection Committee, which seeks to honor those who makegreat sacrifices to help others, and who find a way to mobilizehuman kindness and persevere amid steep odds.”She will join current Aurora Prize Selection Committee

members Nobel Laureates Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and

Leymah Gbowee; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson;former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo; human rightsactivist Hina Jilani; Director of the Institute of Global HealthInnovation at Imperial College London Lord Ara Darzi;President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group and for-mer foreign minister of Australia Gareth Evans; Medecins sansFrontieres Founder Bernard Kouchner; President of Carnegie

Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian; and AcademyAward-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney.The Aurora Prize, now in its third year, was founded on

behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in grati-tude to their saviors. The Selection Committee will convene inBerlin, Germany on December 4, 2017 to review nominationsfrom this year’s process, which gathered 750 submissions from115 countries. Concurrent to their meeting in Berlin, theAurora Humanitarian Initiative will host its first AuroraDialogues outside of Armenia, titled “Millions on The Move:Need for Development and Integration.” The Aurora DialoguesBerlin is a joint effort of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative,Global Perspectives Initiative, Robert Bosch Stiftung andStiftung Mercator, and was held on December 4-5. The 2018 Aurora Prize finalists will be announced on April

24, 2018, the day of commemoration of the ArmenianGenocide in 1915. The Aurora Prize, established on behalf ofthe survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude totheir saviors, provides the laureate with a $100,000 grantand the opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nom-inating organizations to receive a $1,000,000 award. Thethird annual Prize will be announced on June 10, 2018, at aceremony in Armenia.

Samantha Power

Ambassador Samantha Power Joins theAurora Prize Selection Committee

Richard Hovannisian’s Volume onKharpert Published in TurkishISTANBUL — Aras Publishers has announced the publi-

cation of Harput, the third volume in Turkish translationfrom the UCLA Conference series on Historic ArmenianCities and Provinces, organized by Prof. Richard G.Hovannisian between 1997 and 2009.The original English language volume is titled Armenian

Tsopk/Kharpert, consisting of 15 chapters on variousaspects of the region’s history from antiquity to the yearsof genocide and final expulsions to 1930.Volumes previously published in Turkish by Aras

include Van and Bitlis ve Mus, and the publishersannounce the intent to translate successively all fourteenvolume in the series for the Turkish-reading public.Hovannisian stated: “I am deeply gratified that the four-

teen volumes growing out of the UCLA conferences andpublished in English under my editorship by MazdaPublishers in the United States are now being made avail-able in Turkish by Aras Publishers in Istanbul. I regard thisas a significant and hopefully positive development.”

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COMMUNITY NEWS

LUNCHEON, from page 1of a howling storm. The mood was not damp-ened however; in fact, because of the lack ofmicrophones, a certain less formal spirit tookover.The afternoon provided the opportunity to

see the transition of leadership from founderand former executive director RuthThomasian to Tsoleen Sarian as well as theannouncement of the organization’s new ven-tures.“The objective of today is to say thank you.

In appreciation to Ruth Thomasian ourfounder, to you our supporters and friends, toour photo donors, staff, and volunteers. I willalso share with you what is ahead for ProjectSAVE, and how you are a part of our future,”said Sarian.Sarian spoke about the new collaborations

Project Save has embarked upon withHoushamadyan (houshamadyan.org), a pro-ject which seeks to recreate a picture of life inthe Ottoman Armenian towns and villages.“It is a vibrant and dynamic organization

and is growing and expanding,” Sarian said.Next, she said, Project Save is collaborating

with Digital Commonwealth, which providesaccess to materials through a consortium oflibraries, museums, archives, and historicalsocieties from across Massachusetts. It hasshared 220 banquet and panorama photoswith Digital Commonwealth.“This collaboration brings awareness to our

work beyond the Armenian community, as thephotos can be explored across a variety ofwebsites,” she said. She also announced that Project SAVE has

signed an agreement with the USC ShoahFoundation (https://sfi.usc.edu/) to worktogether to develop educational resourcescentered around the use of Project SAVE. “Byexpanding their IWitness program to includeArmenian photographs from Project SAVE,this collaboration will afford teachers and stu-dents the opportunity to gain insight to amore complete story of the Armenian people,

pre-genocide to post-genocide,” she said.

Legacy of Ruth Thomasian

Sarian invited Dorothy Keverian to speak,adding that she and her husband, Jack, havebeen longtime sponsors. Keverian, beamingwith delight, asked fora standing ovation forThomasian, who inkeeping with the lightmood, ran from theback of the room tothe front, waving anapkin.“You are incredible,

giving of yourself for42 years,” Keveriansaid. She also pointedout to an enlarged pic-ture on display of thelate speaker of theMassachusetts Houseof Representatives,George Keverian, herhusband’s brother, onhorseback as a child,one of the many thefamily has donated toProject Save.“He said ‘work with

Ruth Thomasian. Ijust gave her photosof yesteryear,’” saidKeverian, quoting herbrother-in-law.“The photographs

allow us to see theGenocide and the hap-piness before theGenocide and lifetoday,” Keverianadded. “My children have found this valuable,particularly with the calendar.”Every year, Project Save publishes a calen-

dar with a specific theme. This year’s theme is“Our Armenian Journey,” focusing on immi-

grants and refugees in recent times.“Jack and I have found this to be our

favorite philanthropy and George had some-thing to do with that,” Keverian said. “Itkeeps the photographic heritage of theArmenian community worldwide and [makes

available] visual resources to researchers.”Then she concluded, “The new executive

director [Sarian] has done a fabulous job,”before adding in jest, “The only reason Ruthpicked her was that she was Aintabsi.”Next, the program turned to Thomasian in

earnest. Said Sarian, “Someone recentlydescribed Ruth and her work as ‘an admirableproject started and managed by one deter-mined woman to preserve and disseminatehistorically significant photo record ofArmenian life both before and after the geno-cide and both in historic Armenian land andin the diaspora.’“Ruth has taught me to be aware of keep-

ing an egalitarian balance: of gender, location,decade, and also class — not just the success-ful business owners and highly educated, butalso to focus on the regular people. She istenacious to ensure that people recognize andvalue the professional work of Project Save.Thank you for giving me the freedom to leadProject Save, as I proceed with humility andgreat respect,” she noted.Sarian thanked all those who have donated

photographs to the Project Save archives.“Our 45,000 photos are collected on kitchentables and living rooms, from over 1,200 indi-viduals and families. Photos from before theGenocide, photos from missionaries duringthe genocide and photos of Armenian lifethrough the Diaspora. The individuals cap-tured in the photos, their names, and storiesare documented. We are able to teach theirstories, give their testimony, and share theirinformation to the greater world.”She also thanked longtime archivist

Suzanne Adams as well as volunteers JosephChau, Marc Fogel, Edward Kazanjian, JirairLibaridian, Daiga Lorena, Laurence Mini,Elizabeth Wood, John Kebadjian, MarlinKeshishian, Sophie Tolajian and Ed DerKazarian.She stressed that she wanted to make the

archives available to the greater Armeniancommunity as well as the greater global com-munity. She asked for the “shoebox of photosand albums that you have in your family. Wewant them.”Thomasian, now the CEO of Project Save,

wasted little time in speaking about the orga-nization she had founded 42 years ago.“I’ve always loved history. I recently found

an analogy for what history is,” she explained,“a rearview mirror.”“We have to see what came behind us. That

is why history is so important,” she said. “Themirror helps guide you on a safe path fromone’s life road for the future generations.”In the past, she said, talking about history

in the Armenian community was not some-thing that everyone was comfortable doing. In

fact, she recalled that her grandfather dis-couraged speaking at dinner, saying “this isan eating table, not a talking table.”As for her stepping down as executive direc-

tor, she said it was time. “I am not going tolive forever,” leading to the concept of change.The one change that has come to Project Saveis the digital age. She praised Sarian andarchivist Suzanne Adams for digitizing thephotos.All those speaking about Project Save

stressed that the organization does not simplytake the photos but speaks to the donors atlength in order to have the most precise infor-mation about what the photos have captured.The donor interviews are taped and archived.Thomasian joked about her new role, “I col-

lect photos very well. Now, I collect money.”More seriously, she added, “My heart is so

warm with love for Tsoleen.”The keynote speaker was Dr. Hayk

Demoyan, the former longtime director of theArmenian Genocide Museum Institute inYerevan, Armenia, who is currently a visitingscholar at Harvard’s Davis Center for Russianand Eurasian Studies. Demoyan praised the organization for

doing “a wonderful and exceptional job.” Hefirst became aware of them when he startedlooking for photos from the era of theArmenian Genocide. He eventually used manyphotos from the organization in Yerevan atthe Genocide Museum for the centennialevent.He then spoke about the more obscure his-

tory of Armenians in the US, noting that he isresearching Martin the Armenian, the firstethnic Armenian to settle in the US, in hiscase Virginia.“Just keep collecting photos,” he suggested,

“as a historian and as a customer.” The program was sponsored by Nicole

Babikian Hajjar and Dr. Jean-Jacques Hajjarand Adrienne Tashjian. Serving on the eventcommittee were Nicole Babikian Hajjar,including, Vartus Varadian, Taline Badrikian,Armine Manukian and Lorky LibaridianSaid Hajjar at the end of the program, “I am

heartened to see the amount of support andenthusiasm for this organization, especially asit is at a turning point as it shifts gear. It isextremely promising in the very good handsof Tsoleen Sarian.”To purchase a calendar or to find out more

about the organization, visit www.project-save.org

Project Save Hosts Afternoon of Thanks for Donors and Supporters

From left, Connie Koutoujian, Anita Shishmanian and Adrienne Amirian

Mary Baroosian and John Kebadjian

Thanks Giving Brunch Committee, Lorky Libaridian, Vartus Varadian, Tsoleen Sarian, Executive Director, Nicole Babikian eventchair and Armine Manukyan missing: Talin Badrikian

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Arts & LivingAni Kassian-HowardAppears in BostonBallet’s ProductionOf ‘Nutcracker’

BOSTON — Ani Kassian-Howard of Belmontis performing in Boston Ballet’s production ofMikko Nissinen’s “The Nutcracker” in the leadchildren’s role of Clara. Kassian-Howard hasbeen a student at Boston Ballet School since fall2017. “The Nutcracker” opened November 24at the Boston Opera House with performancesthrough New Year’s Eve, December 31.

At age 14, Kassian-Howard is no stranger tothe role of Clara. In Maryland, she performedthe role (and many others) at the Olney BalletTheatre for the Berrend Dance Center’s pro-duction of Mary Day’s “The Nutcracker”(Patricia Berrend, director). Prior to this, shealso performed the role in an abridged versionof the ballet for Kinetics Dance Theatre’sStudent Company (Ellicott City, MD) called“The Cracked Nut” (Becca Buller Sigmund,director).

Born in Boston, Kassian-Howard has lived inMaryland for the past 10 years and is the daugh-ter of concert pianist Anna Soukiassian and Dr.Jeffrey Howard, professor of violin at TowsonUniversity. Her primary training has been at theBerrend Dance Center and Kinetics DanceTheatre where her teachers included PatriciaBerrend, Tim Fox, Runqiao and Erin Du, AaronJackson, Erica Molina, Dmitri Malikov, BeccaBuller Sigmund, Jodi Guzewich and LaurenTait. She has additionally participated inSummer Intensives at Maryland Youth Ballet,Boston Ballet and Carolina Ballet.

Kassian-Howard is performing in 15 of 44shows this season in the role of Clara. She joins250 other young Boston Ballet School studentsfrom around New England in Mikko Nissinen’s“The Nutcracker.” Three different casts will takeon various roles, such as toy soldiers, pages,reindeer, lambs, polichinelles, baby mice andparty children during Boston Ballet’s 44 perfor-mances of “The Nutcracker.”

Since its world premiere in 2012, MikkoNissinen’s and Robert Perdziola’s re-envisionedproduction has been delighting audiences andcritics alike. The production marked the firsttime Boston Ballet built a new productionentirely from the ground up, engaging craftsmen and women from all over the United States.Perdziola illustrated more than 40 sketches thatwere transformed into the production’s larger-than-life sets that range from calm, subtle colorsin the Act I party scene to vibrant colors in ActII’s Land of the Sweets. The 2012 productionalso incorporated more than 350 beautifullyintricate costumes and fine-tuned choreogra-phy. New lighting design by renowned Finnishdesigner Mikki Kunttu was added in 2015.

All children performing in “The Nutcracker”are students of Boston Ballet School andcoached by an experienced staff including

see BALLET, page 16

Christopher AtamianPoetry Collection APoet in WashingtonHeights WinsTölölyan Prize

BOSTON — The Regional ExecutiveCommittee of Hamazkayin ArmenianEducational and Cultural Society of EasternUnited States announces the winner of the 4thMinas and Kohar Tölölyan Prize inContemporary Literature, ChristopherAtamian for his poetry collection titled A Poetin Washington Heights. The book is forthcom-ing from Nauset Press.

Atamian was the winner of the inauguralMinas and Kohar Tölölyan Prize inContemporary Literature, for his translation ofNigoghos Sarafian’s The Bois de Vincennes.

Atamian is a translator, writer and director.In 2006, he produced the OBIE Award-winningplay “Trouble in Paradise” and was included asan invited artist to the 2009 Venice Biennalefor his video “Desire.” His short films andvideos have screened throughout the worldand he appears regularly in such publicationsas the Huffington Post and the New YorkTimes, and was for several years the dance crit-ic for the now-defunct New York Press.Atamian has written one novel, SpeakingFrench, and is at work on several commercialmusicals and film scripts.

In his work as a translator, Atamian hastranslated six books from French and WesternArmenian into English, including NigoghosSarafian’s Bois de Vincennes, and three forColumbia University’s Middle Eastern StudiesDepartment: Krikor Beledian’s Fifty Years ofArmenian Literature in France, and MarcNichanian’s Literature and Catastrophe andThe Armenian Language Throughout History.He has also translated Philippe Delma’s TheRosy Future of War (The Free Press) and is cur-rently at work on Denis Donikian’sVidures/Offal, an award-winning novel pub-lished on Actes Sud.

Atamian has worked in senior positions forleading media companies, including ABC,Ogilvy Interactive, and JP Morgan’s marketingdivision. He received his bachelor’s degreefrom Harvard University and his MBA fromColumbia Business School, and is also an alum-nus of USC Film School. He has been aFulbright, Bronfman, and Gulbenkian Scholar.

Atamian has been active in the Armenian com-munity since he was a teenager and has served onthe board of the Columbia Center for ArmenianStudies and as executive director of the ArmeniaFund USA. He was the elected president twoyears running of the Armenian Gay and LesbianAssociation of NY (AGLA NY) and currently sitson this organization’s board of trustees.

Named after one of the major Armenian lit-erary critics of the second half of the 20th cen-tury and his wife, a devoted teacher of that lit-erature for decades, the annually awardedMinas and Kohar Tölölyan Prize inContemporary Literature recognizes the workproduced by talented writers working in NorthAmerica. The prize is intended to encouragenew work in all the major genres of literaryproduction, as they are currently understood inNorth America. Works in Armenian, English,French and Spanish are considered if theauthors are of Armenian ancestry, or the workhas an Armenian theme or revolves around anArmenian topic.

Hamazkayin Armenian Educational andCultural Society’s Eastern Regional Executiveinitiated this prize a number of years ago toencourage and recognize those who write inthe Armenian language or on Armenian topics.The financial award of $1,500 is made possiblethrough the generosity of Edward and VergineMisserlian of San Francisco, California.

The jury consists of Dr. Sima Aprahamian(Montreal), Anoush Agnerian (Montreal), Dr.Vartan Matiossian (New York/New Jersey),Gourgen Arzoumanian (California).

Temelkuran Speaks onTurkish Politics and HerNew Novel The Time of

Mute SwansCAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Turkish journalist and author Ece Temelkuran present-

ed a talk organized by the BostonBul organization at the Massachusetts Instituteof Technology (MIT) on November 27. This event was part of the tour for the

newly-published English translation of herbook, The Time of Mute Swans.

Temelkuran said that though this was anovel, it was at the same time a political work,so she would also speak about current Turkishpolitics.

“I have been a political person since I was 8 years old, so I see no harm in com-bining politics with literature,” she explained at the start of her talk.

Temelkuran was introduced by Emrah Altindis of BostonBul to a primarilyyoung and Turkish audience. She began speaking in fluent and wry English.

Temelkuran said that popular liter-ature did not often deal with the his-tory of the Turkish republic, andinstead focused on the OttomanEmpire, as if the former were notpoetic enough to be portrayed. Shedecided to rectify this with her novel,and was inspired by a number of truestories, including episodes from herchildhood.

Apparently the leading general ofthe 1980 coup in Turkey, KenanEvren, decided to build a new park inthe Turkish capital of Ankara andtook swans from the already existingSwan Park to the new location. Toprevent them from attempting to flyback, he ordered veterinarians to takedecisive measures, and they operatedon the swans to remove a certainbone. As a consequence, the swanscould no longer fly.

Eventually, people in Ankara forgot that swans normally could fly, and thoughtthis was the natural state of swans. Temelkuran used this as a metaphor for Turksafter the military coup, when people forget their human capacity for creation andresistance.

Another symbolic event in 1980 was the visit of migrating swans from Siberiafor the first time. Temelkuran in wonderment exclaimed that it was if they weretrying to remind the people of Turkey that swans can actually fly, and that peoplecan do things. They returned every year until 2013, which was the year of the GeziPark uprising. Again, it was as if their mission was accomplished and people final-ly were aware that swans can fly and people can resist. During the Gezi uprising,university students in Ankara ran to protect the swans from teargas, just as hertwo eight-year-old characters attempted to protect the swans from the cripplingeffects of the 1980 coup.

The subtitle of Temelkuran’s talk was “Remembering as a Cure for GlobalPolitical Sickness.” Temelkuran said that she learned from her work on theArmenians and the Kurds that when society is offered the chance to remember, it

see TEMELKURAN, page 16

By Aram Arkun Mirror-Spectator Staff

Ece Temelkuran

Ani Kassian-Howard

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ARTS & LIVING

INGAPORE (Biblioasia.gov.sg) — In Penang, theArmenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory theIlluminator was consecrated in 1824; nearly 12years later in Singapore, another church bearingthe same name was consecrated.

The futures of these two churches could not havebeen more different: while the Penang church wasdemolished in 1909, the Singapore church contin-ues to exist to this day as the focal point for a small

but thriving Armenian community,besides being a tourist attraction.

Around 301 AD, Armenia becamethe first country in the world to adoptChristianity as the state religion afterthe apostle Gregory converted its king,Tirdates III. This would cause muchstrife in later years as Armenia stoodbetween two great Muslim powers:Persia and the Ottoman Empire. In theearly 16th century, in his war againstthe Ottomans, the Persian king ShahAbbas razed the Armenian city of Julfaand deported some 25,000 Armeniansto Persia (present-day Iran), mainly tohis new capital Isfahan. He resettledmost of the Armenians in an area thatbecame known as New Julfa.

It was the descendants of thesePersian Armenians, renowned for theiracumen as merchants, who subse-quently settled in India and later, Java,Penang and Singapore. As religion wasintegral to their lives, these diasporicmerchants built churches in their newsettlements as soon as they had themeans. Penang and Singapore were noexception.

In 1786, Francis Light acquired theisland of Penang from the Sultan ofKedah on behalf of the British EastIndia Company (EIC) and establishedthe settlement of George Town. Thecolony soon developed into a bustling center and attractedArmenian merchants from India and Java. Initially, theseArmenians used the services of the Catholic and Anglican cler-gy for worship; however, as their numbers increased, they feltthe need to have a church of their own.

In February 1821, an Armenian delegation met the BritishGovernor of Penang, William Phillips, who asked for a plan

and an estimate of costs. The sum needed was $7,000.Armenian philanthropist Carapiet Arrackell bequeathed$2,000 of this amount, and the community raised another$2,000. As they were short of $3,000, the Armenians peti-tioned Governor Phillips for a donation in 1822.

Phillips was of the view that hardworking Christian peoplewould be an asset to the colony and to encourage moreArmenians to settle in Penang, he donated $500 on behalf ofthe EIC, while recognizing that this amount was much less

than what the Armenians were anticipating. Indeed, this wasa paltry sum compared with the $60,000 the EIC had donat-ed towards the building of the Anglican St. George’s Churchin Penang. The directors of the EIC readi-ly approved the donation seeing that itwould encourage these hardworking andpeace-loving people to settle in Penang.

The Armenian merchant CatchatoorGalastaun not only made good the short-fall, but additionally purchased a plot ofland in September 1821 at Bishop Streetbetween Penang Street and King Street.Construction of the church commencedunder the supervision of British merchantand shipwright, Richard Snadden, and, in1822, Bishop Abraham of Jerusalem offici-ated the laying of the foundation stone. InMay 1824, the community bought theneighboring site that had housed the gov-ernment dispensary, thus enlarging thechurch compound and providing space tobuild lodgings for the priest.

On November 4, 1824, the church wasconsecrated in a service led by BishopJacob of Jerusalem and assisted by Rev.Iliazor Ingergolie, Penang’s first fulltime Armenian priest. Thechurch was officially named the Armenian Apostolic Church ofSt Gregory the Illuminator. The local press described thechurch as the project of a “public spirited individual” (in ref-erence to Galastaun), proclaiming it to be “one of the best pro-portioned and most elegant” buildings in Penang, adding thatit “reflects much credit on the Armenian population.”

Galastaun and his peers must have envisaged a much largerArmenian community settling in Penang when they pressed fora church. But this, unfortunately, did not materialize: Armeniannumbers in Penang never surpassed more than 30. The successof rival Singapore spelled the end of the Penang church. AfterSingapore became the capital of the Straits Settlements in 1832and surged ahead as its commercial center, there was little incen-tive for Armenian entrepreneurs to sink their roots in Penang.The community shrank as members left, and the remaining fewstruggled to support the church.

Despite Penang’s tiny Armenian congregation, priests were

sent out from Persia approximately every three years until1885. After that, church services were held only when a priestvisited Penang. The last was conducted in 1906 by ArchbishopSahak Ayvatian from the Mother church in Isfahan. On hisvisit, Ayvatian discussed the future of the deteriorating churchbuilding with key members of the Armenian community.Whatever their decision, the church’s fate was sealed inFebruary 1909 when decaying beams caused the collapse of amajor balustrade, and large sections of the walls caved in.There was no option but to raze the building, retaining onlythe churchyard and parsonage.

As a memorial to the church, Armenians Joseph Anthonyand Arshak Sarkies commissioned German architect HenryNeubronner to design a commemorative monument that waserected in 1909.4 Over the years, the monument as well as thegarden surrounding it and the tombstones in the graveyardbecame neglected, leading the press to report that this madea mockery of those who had erected the memorial.

The Armenian Church in Singapore�

The fate of the Armenian church in Singapore took a differ-ent trajectory altogether. Within a year of the establishment ofa trading post in Singapore in 1819 by Stamford Raffles,Armenians began arriving. Initially, Reverend Iliazor

Ingergolie travelled from Penang to conduct ser-vices for the Armenian community in Singapore.But after the community grew to around 20 in1825, the Armenians wrote to the Archbishop inPersia asking that a priest be sent to serve theirspiritual needs. In 1827, Reverend Gregory TerJohannes arrived in Singapore.

At first, Ter Johannes conducted services in thepremises of an Armenian merchant named IsaiahZechariah, but soon, as in Penang, the communitywanted its own church. In March 1833, Zechariahbegan petitioning Samuel Bonham, the ResidentCouncilor in Singapore, for a grant of land.Eventually a suitable site was agreed upon at thefoot of Fort Canning. This land had earlier beengranted to Dr. Nathaniel Wallich to establish anexperimental botanical garden, but this particularsite facing Hill Street was left unused.

Bonham sent the request for land along thebureaucratic path to Thomas Church, the acting gov-ernor in Penang, who then forwarded it to the gov-ernment in Calcutta (Kolkata), hoping it would beapproved as the Armenians were “peculiarly docileand diligent and in every respect desirable colonists.”In July 1834, approval for the land was granted; thewelcome news reaching Singapore in September,whereupon the Armenians sprang into action.

The leading British architect of the time, GeorgeD. Coleman was commissioned to design thechurch and oversee its construction. Work com-menced at a rapid pace. The foundation ceremonywas conducted on January 1, 1835 by the VeryRev. Thomas Gregorian who travelled from Isfahan

for the occasion, and the local priest Rev. Johannes Catchick.The total cost of the construction, as well as accessories and

regalia for the priest, amounted to $5,058.30. While the

Penang church benefited from two wealthy donors, Singaporewas not so fortunate. A public subscription was launched and,by mid-1836, some $3,120 had been donated, mostly by localArmenians. This left a shortfall of nearly $2,000 as well as thefurther $600 that was required to build a parsonage.

The paucity of donations from non-Armenians led to a sharprebuke from the Singapore Chronicle newspaper, which hadhoped that the meagre $370 donated by the Europeans andothers would be supplemented; after all, Armenians had gen-erously donated when the call was made to raise funds to buildSt Andrew’s Cathedral. But the plea largely fell on deaf ears.Fortunately, the 12 or so local Armenian families managed toraise the money, and also promised to cover ongoing costs.

On March 26, 1836, the church was consecrated and dedi-cated to St. Gregory, sharing the same name as the Penangchurch — the Armenian Apostolic Church of St. Gregory theIlluminator. The Singapore Free Press declared it as one ofColeman’s “most ornate and best finished pieces of architec-

A Tale of Two Churches:Penang and SingaporeBy Nadia Wright

S

A painting of the Armenian Church in Singapore by John Turnbull Thomson, 1847. This view showsthe original chancel and the second turret.

A postcard featuring the Armenian Commemorative Monumentin Penang, c.1909.

The Armenian Church in Singapore as it looks today, with major alterations madearound 1853 by George Maddock – the new steeple, new east portico and the flatroof. Courtesy of the Armenian Church.

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ARTS & LIVING

Vahe Berberian Premieres‘Ooremn’ Monologue inGreater Boston

ARLINGTON, Mass. — Los Angeles-based comedian VaheBerberian presented the Boston premiere of his latest show,

“Ooremn,” onDecember 3 at theRegent Theatre inArlington hosted bythe Armenian ReliefSociety (ARS)

Cambridge Shushi Chapter as a fundraiser for its varied phi-lanthropic and educational activities.

Heather Krafian welcomed guests on behalf of the ARS. “Ooremn” is a Western-Armenian-language monologue

(sprinkled with English, Turkish and Arabic phrases) coveringtopics ranging from politics, religion, society to relationsbetween men and women. No topic was safe from the obser-vant mind of Berberian, much to the delight of the audience.

Berberian will bring the show back to the East Coast onMarch 3, 2018 for the Tekeyan Cultural Association of GreaterNew York at the Clinton Inn Hotel and Event Center inTenafly, NJ.

For more information about the March event, visithttps://www.facebook.com/pg/tekeyangreaternewyork/events/

By Aram Arkun Mirror-Spectator Staff

ture.” The paper reported in glowing terms:“This small but elegant building does great

credit to the public spirit and religious feelingof the Armenians of this settlement; for webelieve that few instances could be shownwhere so small a community have contribut-ed funds sufficient for the erection of a simi-lar edifice.”

Indeed, the church relied on a very smallcommunity (which never numbered morethan 100 at its peak) to maintain it, as well aspay for the services of a priest. The burden ofsupporting the church was one continuouslyfaced by the Armenians in Penang andSingapore. In Penang, the Anthony familysupported the priest for many years, while inSingapore in the 1930s, that task was takenon by Mrs. Mary Anne Martin.

In the 1840s and in 1853, the Singaporecommunity raised money for major modifica-tions to the roof and dome. Over the years,generous individuals further contributed toimprovements and additions. For example, in1861, Peter Seth donated the bell in thesteeple, although this was not hung until the1880s. In that same decade, Catchick Mosespaid for the back porch and a new fencearound the compound.

As in Penang, the priest lived in a parson-age within the church grounds. The originalsmall building paid for by Simon Stephenswas replaced in 1905 by a splendidEdwardian edifice commissioned by Mrs.Anna Sarkies in memory of her husband,John Shanazar Sarkies.

The church, parsonage and grounds weredamaged during World War II when theBritish military occupied the premises. Afterthe war, the church trustees requested com-pensation to pay for repairs, but in the endthe War Damages Commission paid only partof the claim. In the meantime, the churchand parsonage deteriorated further. Localand visiting Armenians did their best to raisefunds for renovations, their efforts augment-ed by generous donations from the Martinfamily and from church funds.

The last full service by a resident priest washeld in 1938, although services were led by adeacon until the onset of the war in 1942.After the war ended, arrangements weremade for priests to fly over from Australia,but these visits became more infrequent asthe Armenian community shrank over theyears. This did not mean the church lay idle.Since 1946, other Christian denominationshave been allowed to worship at theArmenian church, while occasionally a visit-ing Armenian cleric would conduct a specialservice for the community.

Disappearing Community

By 1970, the congregation had diminishedto about 10 people and the church was indire need of repair. The government decidedthat the church was worth preserving anddeclared it as a National Monument in June1973, thus securing its future. Augmentingthis sense of permanence was the arrival ofArmenian expatriates from America andEurope from the 1980s onwards who wereposted to Singapore for work. Breathing newlife to the small and ageing Persian-Armeniancommunity, these newcomers took an activeinterest in the church. The church wasspruced up for its 150th anniversary in 1986,and Archbishop Baliozian from Sydney andArmenians from the region took part in thecelebration. Over the years, the church hasremained in the public eye through articlesin the media and postage stamps released inSingapore (1978) and Armenia (1999).

After the 1990s, the size of the congrega-tion further increased as Armenians, espe-cially from Armenia and Russia, began to set-tle in Singapore. In 2016, the church trusteesarranged for a priest to regularly visit fromCalcutta to conduct services. The church alsoorganizes cultural events and has continuedthe practice of allowing weddings to be cele-brated in its premises for a donation. Allthese activities, plus a steady flow of tourists,ensure that the church maintains a high pub-lic profile.

Unlike Penang’s Armenian church whichhas disappeared from living memory, itscounterpart in Singapore is a national mon-ument and tourist icon. More importantly, itremains the functioning church of one ofSingapore’s smallest minorities.

TEMELKURAN, from page 13rejects it, yet remembering is the cure for manysocial sicknesses, including the 1980 coup,which has almost been completely erased fromTurkish social memory.

Temelkuran said that Evren had set the stagefor Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoganand the changes instituted by the Justice andDevelopment Party (AKP). Turkey was forcedinto a market society, being forced to “descendto the nadirs of banality by encouraging the evilin human nature.”

The rest of the world also has endured thetribulations of a market society, she said, andreacts with a movement called “rising pop-ulism.” Though she did not like this nomencla-ture, because it disconnected the present withthe economic and social changes of the 1980s,she felt that there was a global movement andTurkey had much to contribute to it because“unfortunately Turkey has a lot of experiencewhen it comes to insanity.”

She concluded, “I don’t believe that words

are strong enough to change the world. …theyare too fragile to do that kind of work. But I dobelieve that words can preserve beauty andremind people of their capacity to create beau-ty. It can also remind people that they can fly.”

The audience for the most part appeared toagree with Temelkuran’s analysis. In the ques-tion session, they peppered her with requestsfor guidance on the best way to resist in a worldwhere, as one questioner said, there is no bal-ance and things are tipped toward the powerful.Another audience member asked how to get

through to the ignorant and indifferent, whotoday form a majority.

Temelkuran said that it was not possible toprove facts in a post-truth society. Instead, shesaid, one needs to come up with a solid counter-narrative, and to do this it is necessary toremember, and to think in literature. A socialist,Temelkuran placed her hope on collectivethinking and progress in small steps.

An audience member asked about the identi-ty of minorities like Armenians, Jews or Kurdsin a society which keeps forgetting its history.Temelkuran said that as far as Armenians orJews were concerned, they were feeling intimi-dated not only due to the hostile discoursedirected against them from the highest levels ofpower, but also because they know that nothingwill protect them. Temelkuran pointed out thatwith Turkish secularists now under attack, thatsuddenly they too learned how it felt to be aminority, and how horrible it was.

Temelkuran, a graduate of Ankara University’sFaculty of Law, began her career as a journalist

for the newspaper Cumhuriyet in 1993. She wasa columnist for the Turkish newspapers Milliyet(2000-2009) and Habertürk (2009-January2012), but lost her positions after being criticalof the Turkish government. She is the author ofmany books, including Deep Mountain: Acrossthe Turkish-Armenian Divide (first published inTurkish in 2008 and in English translation in2010), which received a mixed reception amongArmenians. Her most recent nonfiction book,Turkey: The Insane and the Melancholy, waspublished in English translation in 2016. Her

articles appear in the Guardian, New York Times,Le Monde diplomatique and Bookforum maga-zine. She has won many awards, such as PEN forPeace, Turkish Journalist of the Year, and in2008 the Aysenur Zarakoglu Award for Freedomof Thought and Expression.

The BostonBul organization describes itselfon its Facebook site as follows: “We are stu-

dents, academics, intellectuals, artists, workers,business people and citizens of Turkey and cit-izens of Boston. We are here to show our con-tinued solidarity with our friends in Turkeywho have been subjected to immense policebrutality by the current administration as areaction to their mass protests since the begin-ning of the Gezi Park demonstrations.”

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ARTS & LIVING

Easy Tortilla LahmajoonsINGREDIENTS1 1/2 pounds ground lamb or beef1 medium onion, minced2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced2-3 cloves garlic, minced1 medium green bell pepper, chopped fine1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine1 6-oz. can tomato sauce (more to taste)2-3 tablespoons tomato paste2 tablespoons fresh chopped or dried crushed mintPinch of dried sweet basilSea or Kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper flakes,ground cumin to tasteFresh lemon wedges, sliced green and red onions and tomatoes8-10 8" flour tortillas (any brand)Olive oil

PREPARATION:Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Fully combine all ingredients except the tortillas in a large bowl and let set 10 min-

utes. (This meat mixture may be made 1-2 days ahead of baking and refrigerated).Spread meat mixture thinly onto each tortilla and cook on baking sheets for 10-

12 minutes or until golden brown and meat is fully cooked; do not burn the tortillas.Remove from oven and serve with fresh lemon wedges, a tossed salad, and sliced green

and red onions and tomatoes. If desired, lightly drizzle lahmajoons with olive oil.Serves 6-8.

*Christine's recipes have been published in the Fresno Bee newspaper, Sunset magazine,Cooking Light magazine, and at http://www.thearmeniankitchen.com/

Recipe Corner

by Christine Vartanian Datian

Temelkuran Speaks on Turkish Politics and Her New Novel

Ece Temelkuran speaking at MIT in Cambridge, Mass.

BALLET, from page 13Boston Ballet Artistic Director MikkoNissinen, Boston Ballet School DirectorMargaret Tracey, Children’s Ballet MasterMiranda Weese, and Boston Ballet School’sfaculty. Students auditioned and startedrehearsing for the production in October.They will continue rehearsals throughNovember, which includes rehearsals withCompany dancers and costume fittings withBoston Ballet’s Costume Shop. They willexperience the unique, backstage atmo-sphere at the Boston Opera House throughtechnical and dress rehearsals, as well as per-formances accompanied by Boston BalletOrchestra and attended by more than 2,000audience members each night.

Participating in a full-length ballet is animportant performance opportunity for stu-dents, exposing them to aspects of balletthey do not experience in a regular class.The students learn about the hard work andenjoyment that composes a live ballet per-formance, and have the unique opportunityto dance alongside Boston Ballet’s 66 inter-

nationally-acclaimed professional dancersfrom around the world. This season, BostonBallet School students also have the oppor-tunity to appear in other company produc-tions: Marius Petipa’s “The SleepingBeauty” and August Bournonville’s “LaSylphide.”

For a full synopsis and additional details,visit bostonballet.org.

All 44 performances of The Nutcrackerwill take place at the Boston Opera House(539 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111):

Kassian-Howard will appear in the follow-ing productions: Sunday, December 10,2017 at 1:30 p.m.; Thursday, December 14,at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, December 16, at 1.30p.m.; Wednesday, December 20, at 7:30 p.m.;Saturday, December 23, at 1:30 p.m.;Sunday, December 24, at 11 am; Tuesday,December 26, at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday,December 28, at 1:30 p.m.; Friday,December 29, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday,December 30, at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets start at $35. For more informa-tion, visit bostonballet.org/nutcracker/

Ani Kassian-Howard Is in the ‘Nutcracker’

17T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O RS A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7

DECEMBER 10 — Christmas Holiday Concert, Erevan ChoralSociety and Orchestra, 7 p.m., Sunday, Church Sanctuary,Holy Trinity Armenian Church of Greater Boston, 145Brattle St., Cambridge. This year’s concert, under thedirection of Composer Konstantin Petrossian, music direc-tor and conductor, will open with the Arlington HighSchool Madrigal Singers and feature the vocal quartet theBostonians. The program will consist of traditionalArmenian and Western sacred and holiday music. Thepublic is invited to attend this complimentary concertwhich is a gift to the community. For further information,call the Church office, 617.354.0632.

DECEMBER 14 — NAASR Christmas Open House,with 7:30 lecture by Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy,“Operation Nemesis, Justice, and Inter-GenerationalTrauma: How Resistance Promotes Resilience,” Thursday,6-10 p.m. at the NAASR Center, 395 Concord Ave.,Belmont. All items in the bookstore will be 35 percent ormore off. Contact NAASR at hq@naasr.org for moreinformation.

DECEMBER 17 — Candlelit Labyrinth Peace Walk,Armenian Heritage Park on The Greenway, Boston,4:30 – 6 pm. Quiet holiday reflection and celebration. Tiea ribbon with your wish on the Wishing Tree. HotChocolate & Cookies, hosted by The Bostonian HotelBoston All are invited. RSVP appreciated, pleaseemail hello@ArmenianHeritagePark.org

DECEMBER 17 — St. James 86th Anniversary NameDay Celebration. Sunday. Abp. Khajag Barsamian,Primate, Presiding. Honoring Michael G. Yapchaian,Parishioner of the Year, and Nishan & Margrit Atinizian,Diocesan St. Vartan Award Recipients. 10 a.m. DivineLiturgy. Name Day Banquet to follow. Keljik Hall. St.James’ Charles Mosesian Cultural and Youth Center. $45per person. $10 for children 12 and under. AdvancedReservations Required – purchase tickets online atwww.stjameswatertown.org. 465 Mt. Auburn Street,Watertown 617.923.8860info@sthagop.com

JANUARY 6, 2018 — Saturday family ArmenianChristmas program for children of Neponsit Valley.10-11:30 a.m. Norwood. An un-pageant, pageant. A fun,interactive, and participatory account of Jesus’ birth fol-lowed by an Armenian Christmas craft. Sponsored byAmaras Art Alliance. For location and additional detailscontact Neponsitvalleyarmenians@gmail.com. The pro-gram is free but registration is required.

FEBRUARY 10, 2018 — Poon Paregentan Dinner Dance- Family Kef Night, Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Church,180 Old Westford Rd., Chelmsford. Featuring JasonNaroian Ensemble: Jason Naroian – Vocals and Dumbeg,Joe Kouyoumjian – Oud, Ara Jeknavorian – Clarinet, andDave Anisbigian — Guitar, and. Children Activities - 5 pmand Dinner/Dancing at 6 p.m. Paid in advance ticketsmust be received by February 6: Adults $25, Students (6-12 years old) $10, and 5 & under, free. At the door:Adults $35 and Students $15. For reservations, contactMaria Kazanjian (617) 240-3686 or Ria.tk@verizon.net.Tables of 8 can be reserved in advance with full paymentChecks made payable to: Sts Vartanantz ArmenianChurch.

MARCH 11, 2018 — “Jazz and Art for YerazArt” onSunday, 5 p.m., at Anoush’ella Saj Kitchen, 35 W NewtonSt., Boston. More information will follow.

DECEMBER 9 — The Cultural Committee of Sts. Sahag& Mesrob Armenian Church is pleased to present“Silent Night, Holy Night” Christmas Concert with per-formances by the Nazeli Dance Groups, Students of theArts Education Program, Arts Exhibit. Also featuring theJunior Choir of Sts. Sahag & Mesrob Armenian Church.Saturday, at 5 p.m. in the Egavian Cultural Center, 70Jefferson St., Providence. Refreshments following con-cert. Donations greatly appreciated.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2017-MARCH 14, 2018 — Armenian FilmFestival “The Nation’s Past & Present” Sponsored byCultural Committee of the Sts. Sahag & Mesrob ArmenianChurch, in Hanoian Hall, 70 Jefferson Street, Providence.Wednesday, October 11, , at 7 pm, “Garni, Geghard”Wednesday, November 15, 2017, at 7 pm, “Armenia”(Yerevan, Echmiadzin, Khor Virap, Zvartnots, Sevan, Dilijan,Lori) Wednesday, January, 24, at 7 pm “Country ofArmenian Kings - 2” (Ani, Kars, Edesia, Musaler)Wednesday,February, 21, at 7 pm, “Country of Armenian Kings - 3”(Cilicia, Kharbert, Adana, Zeytoun) Wednesday, March, 14,2018, at 7 pm. All presented in English, donation of $10.

Calendar items are free. Entries should not be longerthan 5 lines. Listings should include contact information.Items will be edited to fit the space, if need be. A photomay be sent with the listing no later than Mondays at

noon.

CC AA L E N D A RL E N D A RMASSACHUSETTSMASSACHUSETTS

RHODE ISLAND

The Christmas Holiday Concert by theErevan Choral Society andOrchestra, will take place at 7 p.m.,on Sunday, December 10, at theChurch Sanctuary, Holy TrinityArmenian Church of GreaterBoston, 145 Brattle St., Cambridge,Mass. This year’s concert, under thedirection of Konstantin Petrossian,will open with the Arlington HighSchool Madrigal Singers and featurethe vocal quartet the Bostonians. Theprogram will offer traditionalArmenian and Western sacred andholiday music. The public is invited toattend this free concert. For furtherinformation, call the Churchoffice, 617.354.0632.

ARTS & LIVING

MISSION HILLS, Calif. — The Ararat-Eskijian-Museumand The National Association for Armenian Studies andResearch (NAASR) present a lecture titled “The Sins ofthe Fathers: Turkish Denialism and the ArmenianGenocide” by Siobhan Nash-Marshall, based on her bookof the same name, on Sunday December 10, at 4 p.m.,Ararat-Eskijian Museum/ Sheen Chapel, 15105 MissionHills Road.

In 1915, the government of the Ottoman Empire begansystematically to rip Western Armenians off the landswhere their ancestors had lived since time immemorial. Itordered that Armenian men be murdered, and theArmenian women, children and the elderly be deportedinto areas of Syria declared unfit for human life. Most ofthe Armenians who managed to survive the death marchwere slaughtered there. In The Sins of the Fathers, thefirst part of which is titled The Betrayal of Philosophy tril-ogy, Dr. Siobhan Nash-Marshall connects the total disre-gard of fact and people, of lands and history that informedthe Armenian Genocide and Turkish denial to what istoday informing our world and culture.

Nash-Marshall holds the Mary T. Clark Chair ofChristian Philosophy at Manhattanville College. Author ofmany academic books and articles on metaphysics andthe problem of evil, she also has written books and arti-cles for the general public: Joan of Arc: A SpiritualBiography and What It Takes to be Free: Religion and theRoots of Democracy. In recent years, Nash-Marshall hasdevoted a lot of attention to genocide and genocide nega-tionism. The Sins of the Fathers is her first book-lengthtreatment of the topic.

After the breakout of the war in Syria, Nash-Marshalland some friends founded the Christians In NeedFoundation (CINF), through which they attempt to helpthe ancient Christian cultures of the world which arepresently in peril.

For more information about the event, contact theArarat-Eskijian Museum at eskijian@ararat-eskijian-muse-um.com, or NAASR at hq@naasr.org.

The Sins of the Fathers: TurkishDenialism and the Armenian Genocide

Author Siobhan Nash-Marshall

18 S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMENTARY

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Armenia Straddles East and West LineCOMMENTARY

By Edmond Y. Azadian

Armenia did not sign an agreement with the European Union(EU) four years ago when it first had the chance, but an agreementwas signed November 24 in Brussels, on the sidelines of theEuropean Partnership Summit attended by delegations from 28European Union countries and representatives from Armenia,Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Belarus.

Despite the fact that Armenia made a U-turn at the time, theEU did not punish Armenia or treat it negatively. On the contrary,it continued friendly relations with Armenia because it was in pur-suit of a greater goal; and as we see, this time around, severalrepublics of the former Soviet Union are involved in this new deal,which officially is “not directed against the interests of any par-ticular party” but everyone is aware that it is intended to isolateRussia.

At the signing ceremony, Donald Tusk, the president of theEuropean Council, used the opportunity to criticize Moscow overits actions in Crimea. In addition, Prime Minister Theresa May ofBritain did not mince her words in defining the role of the agree-ment as it pertains to limiting Russia.

The agreement will give Armenia less than what was offered in

the previous deal, which was to become part of “deep and com-prehensive free trade area.”

It would not be wise to delve into the legal implications of theagreement, without studying the 350-page document, but we candiscuss the public fallout. By enlisting countries from the Russiansphere of influence, the EU is doing the US’s bidding as far asantagonizing Russia is concerned.

As a second-rate power, the EU cannot be weaned from the US,no matter what political differences it may have with Washington.President Emanuel Macron of France and Chancellor AngelaMerkel have at times been openly critical of the US administration,in an attempt to demonstrate their sovereignty, but they have notgone as far as breaking relations.

The agreement Armenia came to sign assigns some commit-ments vis-à-vis the EU; the signatories have to fight domestic cor-ruption, break up monopolies, render the courts independent,hold free elections and so on. One would ask why Armenia couldnot achieve any of these reforms on its own and has to enter intoan association to be forced into implementing them. The reasonseems to be that by association, Armenia is committing itself toupholding European values. The second, more valid reason, is thatthe EU is offering $200 million to Armenia to carry out thosereforms by 2020. It looks like the EU has to bribe Armenia to helpit make some good decisions.

A respected journalist, Aram Aprahamian, writing in his editori-al column in Aravot daily, seems to be skeptical, looking at thefaces of those leaders who have been responsible for the currentlackluster situation in Armenia.

Armenia came out of Brussels with less than it had bargainedfor. Thus, the EU had an official statement before the signing cer-emony, addressing the Karabakh issue indirectly, by upholding onan equal footing the principles of territorial integrity and the rightof self-determination. The second principle was deleted from thefinal declaration, in deference to Azerbaijan. But to put a positivespin on the situation, Armenia’s top diplomat, Edward Nalbandian,

who signed the agreement, announced that “the agreement reaf-firms the stated commitments of the European Union to supportthe efforts and approaches of the co-chairs of the Organization forSecurity and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group for thepeaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, based onthe norms and principles of international law, in particular thenon-use of force or threat of force, equal rights and the principlesof self-determination and territorial integrity.”

Just a week ago, the Black Sea Cooperation Council had adopt-ed a similar declaration, omitting the principle of self-determina-tion and no country came to Armenia’s defense and thus theArmenian delegation had to walk out of the conference.

In the second paragraph of the EU agreement, there is a refer-ence to territorial integrity, independence and sovereignty, direct-ed at Russia, to satisfy Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine, onceagain leaving Armenia in limbo.

On the diplomatic front, the general agreement seems to reignfor all parties concerned. According to senior officials in Yerevan,Armenia’s landmark agreement with the EU will not complicate itsclose political and economic relations with Russia. Speaker ofParliament Ara Babloyan said during a hearing, “Armenia hasnever followed a path of pitting the interests of its partners, letalone friends, against each other.”

In his turn, Piotr Switalski, the head of the EU delegation inYerevan, has reinforcedBabloyan’s assurancesby stating that “theagreement is not direct-ed against any party. Itdoes not contain anyprovisions which wouldundermine or influencenegatively the interestof other countries thatcooperate withArmenia.”

Most worrisomewould have beenMoscow’s reaction. Andagain, Armenia wouldnever make the move toget close to the EUwithout clearing it withMoscow first. On theface of it, the Russianreaction seems to bereassuring in the state-ment of its ForeignMinistry, which saysthat Moscow “respects”Yerevan’s desire toforge closer ties withthe EU. RussianAmbassador to YerevanIvan Volynkin, taking

his cue from its Foreign Ministry, has reaffirmed that as a“sovereign country, Armenia is free to form alliances and theCEPA provisions do not run counter to Armenia’s membership inthe Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union.”

But these official statements do not jibe well with the uglyattacks that the two state-controlled TV channels in Moscow haveunleashed against Armenia. Many talk shows have been aired spe-cially on NTV, where Armenia is portrayed as a woman married toRussia, asking for gifts from the husband while flirting with theEuropean lover.

No Armenian commentator has been invited to those shows toprovide any alternative views. Unfortunately, this Armenia-bashingcampaign translates into abuses and even murders on the streetsof Moscow, where Armenians, as well as other Caucasian immi-grants, are singled out on the streets and routinely called deroga-tory names.

A senior representative of President Vladimir Putin’s UnitedRussia Party visiting Armenia has disowned those scathingattacks, by stating that “such comments do not reflect Moscow’sposition on the issue.”

Thus, Armenia, believing it to be its historical mission to bridgeEast and West, has taken a positive initiative but from all indica-tion, that move is fraught with perils and risks.

Actually, Armenia’s foreign policy has become a multi-vectorone. Assuming the chairmanship of the Francophonie organiza-tion of French-speaking nations will bring President Macron toArmenia while on the other hand hosting Iran’s Foreign MinisterJawad Zarif led to the signing of significant economic agreements.

And yet, all these activities have to translate into bread for theordinary citizen’s table, and jobs and hope for the youth to remainin Armenia.

There are many counter currents against Armenia’s develop-ment and the government has been taking bold steps to break theisolation and assure all these agreements to yield benefits andnow.

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R

COMMENTARY

19

My TurnBy Harut Sassounian

Turkish President ErdoganEmbroiled In New $15 MillionFinancial Scandal

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power14 years ago as a devout Muslim, announcing that he intend-ed to eliminate corruption from Turkish politics.

As he consolidated his authority and moved from PrimeMinister to an autocratic President, he forgot his promisesand engaged in the very corrupt policies which he had con-demned. As British historian Lord Acton has said… “powertends to corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

This week, I wish to cover Erdogan’s fourth corruptionscandal, starting by summing up the first three involvinghim and his family.

The first case is regarding Erdogan receiving an oil tankerworth $25 million as a gift from Mubariz Mansimov, anAzeri billionaire, in 2008. At Erdogan’s request, Mansimovlater became a Turkish citizen and changed his last name toGurbanoglu.

The second case occurred in December 2013, whenErdogan and four of his Ministers were implicated in a multi-million dollar corruption probe. Faced with litigation, allfour Ministers resigned. However, Erdogan interfered in thetrial, dismissing the lawsuit and firing the prosecutors and

policemen who had exposed his Ministers’ corrupt practices.The private phone conversations between Erdogan and hisson Bilal had been recorded, revealing their discussions onhow to hide the hundreds of millions of dollars in cash theyhad received mysteriously.

The third case of corruption is the ongoing trial in NewYork City regarding a billion-dollar scheme to smugglegold for oil from Turkey to Iran in violation of U.S. sanc-tions on Iran. Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian gold dealerpleaded guilty last week to all seven charges, exposingthe participation of a Turkish banker, Mehmet HakanAtilla, and seven other defendants, including TurkishEconomy Minister Zafer Caglayan, who was accused ofreceiving millions of dollars in bribes from Zarrab inexchange for arranging the illegal scheme. Zarrab alsoimplicated President Erdogan for having authorized theillegal gold for oil trade.

The fourth and latest corruption scheme involves mem-bers of Erdogan’s family who reportedly transferred $15 mil-lion to an off-shore company called Bellway Limited in thetax haven of Isle of Man, United Kingdom, in December2011 and January 2012. This accusation was made byTurkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The Isle of Man is a self-govern-ing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea betweenEngland and Ireland.

Party Chairman Kilicdaroglu recently announced that acompany was established on August 1, 2011 on the Isle ofMan with a founding capital of 1 British pound. He revealedthe bank statements and copies of the $15 million wiretransfers to the Bellway Limited company:

— On December 15, 2011, Erdogan’s brother-in-law ZiyaIlgen transferred $2.5 million, and on December 26, 2011,$1.25 million.

— On December 15, 2011, Erdogan’s brother Mustafatransferred $2.5 million, and on December 26, 2011, $1.25

million.— On December 27, 2011, Erdogan’s father-in-law Osman

Ketenci transferred $1.25 million, and on December 28,2011, $1 million.

— On December 27, 2011, Erdogan’s former executiveassistant Mustafa Gündogan transferred $1.25 million, andon December 28, 2011, $250,000.

— On December 29, 2011, Erdogan’s son Ahmet BurakErdogan transferred $1.45 million, and on January 4, 2012,$2.3 million.

Kilicdaroglu filed a parliamentary motion requesting aninvestigation of the transfers. However, the majority domi-nated by Erdogan’s AK Party voted down the measure.When Kilicdaroglu was addressing the Parliament regardingthe allegations against Erdogan, the State TV cut off the livetransmission.

Turkish prosecutors announced last week that they areinvestigating the charges against Erdogan. However, as iswidely known, no judge would dare to rule that Erdogan isguilty of any crimes, given the fact that many judges are dis-missed or jailed for not complying with the TurkishPresident’s wishes.

As expected, Erdogan was furious at the allegationsagainst his family. He declared that he would resign fromhis post if it is proven that he has a bank account in a for-eign country. Ahmet Ozel, a lawyer for President Erdoganstated that the bank documents publicized byKilicdaroglu were “fake” and described the allegations as“lies.” Erdogan threatened that Kilicdaroglu “would paya price,” and filed a lawsuit against him seeking $500,000for defamation.

These scandals may have an adverse effect on PresidentErdogan’s re-election in 2019, assuming that he would per-mit a fair election. We hope that President Erdogan remainsin office as he persists to undermine Turkey’s reputationworldwide.

Send OffLoved OnesWith ServicesFrom TheHeartBy Harut Akopyan

’M WRITING this as a personal manifesto intendedfirst and foremost for myself, but also for the sake andmemory of the dead and the eulogy of the living igno-rant. To clarify, I am convinced that these two groupsare one and the same as far as critical thinking is con-cerned. What I’m interested in is for myself as well asthe Armenian community to separate itself from theshackles of mindless tradition. How treasonous it is to

treat the dead with a meaningless copy of something you’vewitnessed a hundred times before, intended merely to clearyour own conscience. Here I’m speaking about the routinetreatment of the Armenian wake services, otherwise known astesaktsutyun. To clarify further, this is not a criticism of thewake services itself but the way with which it is practicedtoday.

Before I go on about what I believe is one of the mostmonotonous events most Armenian-Americans willingly andunwillingly participate in whenever a loved one passes, I wouldlike to leave my own will in this essay. When I am no longer abreathing and living mass of blood and bones, my one and onlywish is for the service, if one is even provided, not take placein a church with priests directing the service in some reli-gious/spiritual fashion which I find absurd. I have no qualmswith people getting together to console themselves andremember the dead by paying their last “respects” so to speak.Anywhere else; a basketball court, a warehouse, even a ban-quet hall. But not a house built on ancient ideas and theoppression of the body and mind (especially for women), bothof which it intends to control to this day.

Why then write this? The answer lies not in some diatribeagainst the church but in the revelation of a hypocrisy in thecollective minds of our communities. Although this hypocriti-cal snake has many heads, I will only speak of one of themtoday: the banal treatment of the tesaktsutyun. In my opinion,hypocrisy is the single most poisonous obstacle that has tar-

nished the will and consciousness of today’s DiasporaArmenians. I can only speak of the Diaspora (more specifical-ly Los Angeles) because I have lived most of my life there.Though many things are shared with the people in theRepublic of Armenia, my conscience cannot allow me to freelycriticize a cultural phenomenon of a country and a peoplewhose land and water I don’t share.

I find it surreal that in the “house of God,” many of theattendees solemnly bow their heads and ritually make a crosswith their hands to their foreheads, while only ever steppingfoot inside this building during funerals and weddings. Thatin itself is fine if you are merely an attendee. After all,incredulity doesn’t give you an excuse to be socially reclusiveor not respect the “other” if the other is an honest church-goer. By honest I mean to say one who is active in the churchand knows his verses and follows them rationally. Surelyeveryone cannot be an honest churchgoer.

How is it then that everyone with a dead family memberends up doing the same exact service and everyone else endsup attending it? I think it is because there are very few, if atall, honest churchgoers left. What we have today are echoesand reflections of a past. These attendees have never set theireyes on the pages of a bible nor do they pray (with the excep-tion of praying for miracles, the lottery, or safety when in dan-ger). The laziness of thought and the lack of courage invitesthem to continue with a tradition which they do not care for.Most of them sit through the service, without understandinga word in the liturgy that the priest is hymning or talkingabout (for good reason some would argue). What’s more isthat this doesn’t bother them and they will freely admit theirlack of connection with the church. Starting Monday, theywill go right back to consuming porn and greedily chasingmore money.

Mind you, I don’t attach a code of conduct or moral equiv-alence to any of those things nor am I against them. The dif-ference is that I admit it while they don’t. Although virulentin nature, this criticism is not a pipe dream. I acknowledge thefact that these words aren’t meant for our grandparents orour parents. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks just asmuch as you can’t strip away meaningless tradition out ofwhat’s left in the creative mind of the baby boomer. This ismore or less directed at the millennials and the generationthat will inherit their wisdom. There is still time for you to doas you wish with your own legacy.

But it doesn’t end there. Where there is hypocrisy, there willundoubtedly be mind-numbing clichés. There is a certain trendthat has taken over these services where a known “orator”within the community will deliver the eulogy. There are a fewof these orators who are famous within the community andcan regularly be seen on Armenian television. Their talentsinclude their haunting voices and their ability to recite poetryin spoken-word fashion, a unique and beautiful Armenian tra-dition. Leave it to the living ignorant to take something inde-pendently creative and distinct and make it into a market forthe dead. There is nothing inherently wrong with someone ofstature eulogizing the dead. But when everyone else feels obli-gated to do this, as if to claim some kind of inclusiveness andclass status, then it makes something (the eulogy) that ismeant to be a personal and beautiful recollection of one’s sig-

nificant and insignificant time on earth into something thatcan be purchased. How do you not see this? If you care for thememory of your dead so much, why not speak about themyourselves and kick the priests and the orators out of thebuilding? One way could be to invite others to speak aboutthem and make their memory a living and relatable act ofaffection. Because once gone, the dead will slowly but surelybe forgotten. And you, the living ignorant, will slowly but sure-ly forget that you have repeated yourselves until you are nolonger living but still ignorant.

When challenged with this hypocrisy, the living ignorantdefend themselves by holding on to this thoughtlessness as ifit is their foundation. They sit across their dead loved ones andallow a man in cloak to lecture them and reassure them mere-ly by his presence and much less by what he says (thoughthere are exceptions). The living ignorant are too ignorant orlack the will to care about or ask themselves if in fact theirloved ones are going to live indefinitely among saints. There isno reflection or constraint in lavishness when dealing with thesinners, wife beaters, horrible fathers, oppressors, cheaters,etc. All the living ignorant care about is not rocking the boat.

There are some who are conscientious but unwilling stillbecause they value what they perceive as tradition to be aboveall else and think changing it translates into a loss of identity.To those people, I’d like to point out the progression of thought,art, and culture have always undergone a process of novel intro-ductions, followed by cultural adaptations to those novelties.The famous twentieth century poet, playwright and critic, T.S.Eliot, wrote scathing criticism against the poet who ignored tra-dition when he said “...we shall often find that not only the best,but the most individual parts of his work may be those in whichthe dead poets, their ancestors, assert their immortality mostvigorously.” However, he went on to say, “Yet if the only form oftradition, of handing down, consisted in following the ways ofthe immediate generation before us in a blind or timid adher-ence to its successes, ‘tradition’ should positively be discour-aged.” A devout Christian, Eliot wrote several famous essays onthe dangers of blind tradition and I think we would be better offif we reconsider how we think of tradition.

To be clear, this is not an attack on faith or belief. Andalthough I am not religious, it is not an attack on religioneither. It is rather a criticism of the carrying out thoughtlesstraditions in and of themselves. I prefer that one care for thememory of their dead to the extent that they don’t follow aprescribed ceremony, instead building a personal and thought-ful one. As pointed out earlier, this isn’t a chicken or egg dilem-ma. Careful consideration must come hand-in-hand with tradi-tion. Therefore, if one has come to the conclusion that that isthe best way to celebrate the memory of the dead and providea vessel for their afterlife (provided that is what the dead per-son and/or their loved ones believe), then I cannot criticizethem in good conscience. However, one thing is certain: this isnot how most of these ceremonies are conducted today. Inother words, these empty and heavily clichéd prone servicesare not dying out and neither are the living ignorant.

(Harut Akopyan studied film and screenwriting back in col-lege and is an aspiring writer. He was born in Yerevan and

moved to Los Angeles at age 7.)

I

By Miran P. Sarkissian

Recep Tayyip Erdogan will, finally, become thefirst president of the Republic of Turkey to visitGreece after 65 years when, in 1952, MahmutCelâl Bayar (1883–1986) the third President ofTurkey from 1950 to1960, made a visit toAthens. Erdogan’s visit willtake place on December 7and 8. He is to spend thefirst day in Athens meeting with high Greek gov-ernment officials and then travel to NorthernGreece where, the next day being Friday, he isscheduled to conduct afternoon prayers at theEski Tzami, allegedly built in the 17th century, in

the city of Komotini.It was announced in Greek media yesterday

that he will be accompanied by some 200 body-guards while his companion travelers will be hiswife, five ministers, 47 journalists and 11 news-paper editors. Heavy security measures will be inplace for this visit from both the Turkish andGreek sides to ensure a visit without any inci-

dents given that last weekGreek police arrested eightpeople of Turkish originpreparing home-madebombs in apartments locat-

ed in the center of Athens.The Turkish president put his Greek counter-

part in difficulty when he announced his desireto visit Northern Greece where there is a sub-stantial population of Turkish origin people.

Earlier this year, Hakan Cavousoglou, vice presi-dent of the Turkish government and originallyfrom Northern Greece himself, had visited thearea and made totally incendiary statementsabout the Turkish ‘minorities’ of the regionbeing suppressed by the Greek governmentwhich, in turn, reacted negatively to suchundiplomatic behavior.

Prime Minister Tsipras of Greece is cautiouslyoptimistic about this visit and hopes it will yieldconcrete results on matters such as the refugeecrisis from Syria, Turkey’s relations with theEuropean Union, the latest incidents with NATOand Cyprus.

On the other hand, Erdogan, being the deftpolitician he is proving to be, has a high interestin making this visit succeed as he wishes to illus-trate to the West that he is a player useful tothem despite the tangled situation in Syria, hiscontinuing verbal abuse of the United States onsupplying arms to the Kurds against ISIS and hisunravelling involvement in the breaking of theUS embargo against Iran and corruption scandalas it is currently being reported by Reza Zarrabin New York these very weeks.

It is rather obvious that the ‘strong man ofTurkey’ wants this visit to Greece in order tosend a message to his audience in Turkey that heis not in a ‘diplomatic quarantine’ by the West.Although he had telephone discussions withPresident Trump and German ChancellorMerkel, it is well known that there is a truly unfa-vorable feeling shared by these two leadersagainst Erdogan. The latter’s recent summitmeeting with Russia and Iran annoyed WesternAllies and NATO countries to a high degree.

What is currently an issue at the US StateDepartment, however, must be whether themovements recently adopted by Erdogan in dis-tancing himself from the US are borne from his

own anger or a mature strategic choice. If it is hisanger, Washington probably thinks the gap canbe bridged. If, however, it is a strategic move,then Erdogan is on the way to his own demise.

(Miran P. Sarkissian resides inAthens, Greece.)

S A T U R D A Y, D E C E M B E R 9 , 2 0 1 7 T H E A R M E N I A N M I R R O R - S P E C TAT O R20

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Analysis: Face-to-FaceWith Rohingya, PopeDitches DiplomacyBy Nicole Winfield

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Pope Francis has gotten into trouble before for ditchingdiplomatic protocol and calling a spade a spade, most famously when he labeled theOttoman-era slaughter of Armenians a “genocide” from the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Francis took the hit — Turkey recalled its ambassador to the Vatican in protest — for thesake of standing up for an oppressed people who were nearly wiped off the map a centu-ry ago.

Given the opportunity to do the same in Myanmar, where the military has launchedwhat the U.N. says is a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya Muslim minor-

ity, Francis opted instead for diplomaticexpediency. He not only avoided the con-tested term “Rohingya” in his publicremarks, he ignored Asia’s worst refugee

crisis in decades entirely and didn’t call out his hosts for launching it.Human rights groups complained. Rohingya complained. Journalists and pundits asked

if Francis’ legacy as a fearless crusader for the world’s most marginal — the poor, home-less, refugees and prisoners — wasn’t now in question.

By Friday, Francis’ heart won out.In an emotional encounter with 16 Rohingya refugees, Francis said what he probably

wanted to say from the start. His voice trembling after he greeted the men, women andchildren who had been forced to flee their homes in Myanmar for wretched camps inBangladesh, Francis begged them for forgiveness for what they had endured and the“indifference of the world” to their plight.

“The presence of God today also is called ‘Rohingya,’” he told them.

And with that one word, Francis erased days of speculation that the tell-it-like-it-is, pro-tocol-be-damned pope had sold out to the professional diplomats at the Vatican who werewilling to deny a persecuted minority their very identity for the sake of global and localchurch politics.

The Vatican had defended Francis’ initial silence as necessary for the sake of “buildingbridges” with Myanmar, which only established diplomatic relations with the Holy See inMay.

“Vatican diplomacy is not infallible,” spokesman Greg Burke told reporters in Yangon.“You can criticize what’s said, what’s not said. But the pope is not going to lose moralauthority on this question here.”

Burke added that the Catholic Church is a minority in Myanmar. The implication wasclear: Catholics are already discriminated against in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar,and certainly didn’t need any blowback from the vast majority of Burmese who recoil atthe term “Rohingya” because it implies an official recognition of them as an ethnic group.The local church had urged Francis to refrain from using the term, and Francis obliged.

A pope is first and foremost a shepherd to his flock.The Vatican also wanted to back its local church in supporting Aung San Suu Kyi, who

many Burmese see as their only hope for forging a more democratic, inclusive societywhere basic rights are guaranteed for all minorities — Christians included.

And so when he arrived in Yangon and joined Suu Kyi at an official welcome ceremo-ny, Francis behaved like a true diplomat.

He called for all ethnic groups in Myanmar to have their basic rights guaranteed — animportant message to be sure but one that was clearly written by committee.

Francis upped the ante when he arrived in Bangladesh, where he acknowledged the“immense toll of human suffering” under way in the squalid, overcrowded refugee campsthat are now home to more than 620,000 Rohingya who have poured across the borderfrom Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

In his official arrival speech, Francis demanded the international community take “deci-sive measures” to not only help Bangladesh provide for the refugees, but to resolve theunderlying political causes in Myanmar that set off the exodus.

But he didn’t say “Rohingya.” Until he met them.And when he did, when he clasped their hands in his and listened to their tragedies, he

not only acknowledged their identity, he assumed responsibility for all the suffering theyhad endured.

“In the name of all those who persecute you, who have persecuted you, and those whohave hurt you, above all in the indifference of the world, I ask you for forgiveness,” he said.He repeated the word: “Forgiveness.”

Francis was back.

COMMENTARY

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — The Armenian par-liament on Tuesday, December 5, refused todebate on a pro-Western opposition alliance’scalls for Armenia’s withdrawal from theRussian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

A parliamentary declaration drafted by theYelk alliance says that membership in the EEU,effective from January 2015, has hurt the coun-try’s economy and security. Deputies repre-senting the pro-government majority in theNational Assembly spoke out against the docu-ment when it was first circulated in September.

Nevertheless, Yelk continued to press for afull-fledged parliamentary debate on the issue.The parliament committee on foreign relationsdiscussed and gave a negative assessment ofthe Yelk motion on November 29.

Only six deputies, all of them from Yelk,voted for the issue’s inclusion on the parlia-ment agenda. Seventy-six others voted against.The latter represent not only the rulingRepublican Party (HHK) but also its juniorcoalition partner, the Armenian RevolutionaryFederation, and businessman GagikTsarukian’s alliance.

Just before the vote, the HHK’s SamvelFarmanian addressed fellow lawmakers anddefended the Armenian leadership’s foreign

policy which aims to complement Armenia’salliance with Russia with closer ties with theWest. He implicitly referred to theComprehensive and Enhanced PartnershipAgreement (CEPA) signed by Armenia and theEuropean Union on November 24.

“An artificial juxtaposition of the EEU andthe EU is not in the interests of Armenia, and Iam sure that the faction sitting on our left[Yelk] is utterly conscious of that,” saidFarmanian.

Yelk’s Edmon Marukian rebutted that claim.He insisted that the EEU is to blame for risingconsumer prices and other economic problemsfacing Armenia.

According to official Armenian statistics,Russia and other EEU member statesaccounted for about 28 percent of Armenia’sforeign trade in January-October 2017. TheEU’s share in the total stood at just over 24percent.

Immediately after refusing to discuss theYelk initiative, the parliament began debating anew uniform Customs Code which is due to beadopted by the EEU member states. The draftcode calls, among other things, for solely elec-tronic filings of customs declarations and otherdocuments starting from 2020.

Parliament Majority Blocks Debate on Eurasian Union

Erdogan’s Underhanded Diplomacy

OPINIONDevelopment Foundation ofArmenia Helps Attract $15Million in Investments

YEREVAN (Armenpress) — During 2017, theDevelopment Foundation of Armenia (DFA) wasinstrumental in attracting $15 million in invest-ments, as well as signing export agreements worth5.9 billion drams, DFA Director Armen AvakAvakian told reporters on December 5.

“This year we have recorded very goodresults… During the year 23 times more outputwas provided against any 1 USD spent forboosting export,” he said.

Avakian stated that the foundation hasundergone three global changes this year whichalso changed the structure’s activity nature.

“In 2017 three global changes were made inthe Development Foundation of Armenia: theDFA mandate changed from general develop-ment foundation to a structure directed forbusiness,” he said. The next change is that thetourism development component has beenremoved from the Foundation’s functions, andinstead of that the list of the DFA services hasbeen supplemented by a project platform andback-up service. “We receive orders for invest-ment projects from the government, packagethem, distribute and find a funding,” he said,adding that the Foundation has also undergonestructural changes.